


Teaghlaigh Aimsigh

by GachMoBrea



Series: Secret Sibling Series [1]
Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: AU, Abduction, Alternate Universe, Barry and Lenny and Lisa are Related, Brothers, But the Fic is in English, Drama, English, Family, Feelings, First fan fiction!, Half Brothers, Half sisters, I can't do Puns, Irish Title & Chapter Titles, Kidnapping, Mental Issues - Original Character's, Mobsters, Mystery, Not Enough Puns, Probably has Grammar Mistakes, Rescue, Revenge, SPOILER TAGS!!!, Unknown Family, anger issues, injuries, lots of bad guys, mafia, no one knew, slow
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-31
Updated: 2016-04-04
Packaged: 2018-05-30 09:25:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 37
Words: 38,404
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6417979
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GachMoBrea/pseuds/GachMoBrea
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Flash and Captain Cold are at it again. This time a new Meta arrives and reveals things about the two men that will turn their lives upside down.</p><p>This is an Alternate Universe. Any differences to the show, example: a detail of the past, can be considered a part of the AU.</p><p>The characters are definitely Out Of Character... Sorry about that.<br/>No Wells, neither of them.<br/>Also, no one talks to Barry's Dad (though he IS mentioned) & there's no mention of Eddie (but he's not dead)...</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. amháin

**Author's Note:**

> [I played with this idea, in a different way, in another fiction here on the Archive.*]  
> [*I added the two stories in a Series, even though they are different...It makes them easier to find.]

"Barry," Cisco's voice comes through the intercom, "a silent alarm has been triggered at Town's Street Curiosities."  
"Meta?" Barry asks as he turns to go toward the destination.  
"Hard to tell," Cisco sounds disappointed in himself, "There's some sort of interference."  
"We'll know in a second," Barry, aka the Flash, smiles as he arrives.  
The Curiosity shop is dark on the outside, but the superhero can see something moving in the back of the shop. He flashes to the back and sees Heatwave carrying a bag over his shoulder on his way out of the shop.  
"Really?" Barry sighs, "Cisco, it's Heatwave."  
"Alone?" Cisco sputters, surprised.  
"Oh, look, it's the Flash," Captain Cold drawls from behind the hero, "Your power is speed, right? Not invisibility."  
Barry rolls his eyes as he turns to face the villain, "I thought you were better at this, Snart. You set the silent alarm off."  
The older man shrugged his shoulders, "I'm just playing backseat villain in this, Flash. Heatwave is doing this all by himself."  
"You two get into a fight or something? I though you always played it cool."  
Cold shrugged again, "Things got a little too hot for my taste. A good leader lets his partner let off a little steam every now and again."  
"Hey," Heatwave breaks into their conversation with an annoyed growl, "what is he doing here?"  
"You set off the alarm again," Cold answers, looking around the hero to see his partner, "I told you to let me handle the break in."  
Heatwave grumbled something unpleasant before turning his back on the two men to finish packing the van.

Suddenly, there was an explosion from the other side of the street.  
"What was that?" Cisco immediately asked.  
Barry flashed away from the villains and over to the point of explosion in time to see a woman walking out of the erupting flames.  
"I think Central City just got itself another Meta-Human," Barry scanned the area for more Meta's or bystanders, the street was empty.  
"Hello!" the woman from the flames called out with a wave of her hand, "What's your name?"  
"Did-Did she just say hi?" Cisco scoffed from the other side of the comm.  
The woman was only wearing a sleeveless, black dress that barely reached the tops of her knees. The lack of shoes was odd considering she was standing on a pile of flaming concrete. Was fire her power?  
"Hi," Barry smiled tentatively, "I'm the Flash. Who are you?"  
"Oh! Yes, of course, I'm Emily. Silly of me to forget to introduce myself!" she giggled, her hands wrapping around her sides.  
"I think we've found another crazy," Cisco voiced sounded in a warning.  
"What are you doing here?" Barry asked, widening his arms to indicate the street.  
"Oh, well, you see, I was looking for my sister," Emily giggled again, "She went out for milk and didn't come back and I get super worried when she doesn't come back and I really, really wanted milk for my cookies."  
"Right, because what's milk without cookies?" Barry laughs lightly, trying to figure out what to do with a Meta who was less violent and more child-like, "Why don't I help you find your sister?"  
"Really?" she squeals, running to the Flash and giving him a great big hug, "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"  
"Uh, sure, uh what does she look like?" Barry pulls out of the hug carefully, not wanting Emily to use her powers.  
"She's like me but with white hair," Emily lifts her bright red hair, "Also, she's older and doesn't laugh enough."  
"That's descriptive," Cisco grumbles, his hands typing on the computer to try and figure out how many Emily's lived in Central City during the accelerator explosion.  
As Barry's mind floods with different thoughts and solutions to his newest Meta problem, in the back of the Curiosity shop the villain duo make their escape.

"There goes Cold and Heatwave," Flash sighs as he hears the engine getting quieter as they drive away.  
"Forget about them, Barry," Caitlin's smile is clear through her voice, "Right now we've got to figure out what Emily's powers are and how they work."  
"Yeah, I can't name her if I don't know what she can do," Cisco points out unhelpfully, "Owe, Caitlin!"  
"Guys..." Barry sighs.  
"Who are you talking to?" Emily looks up at him with big eyes, "Are they your imaginary friends?"  
"Uh, no their my real friends, I can hear them over a special communicator," Barry smiles, Emily looks excited, "Emily, what caused the fire?"  
Emily instantly looks confused, "What fire?"  
"That fire," Barry points to the small fire still eating away at a wooden fence, "You stepped out of it, remember?"  
"Oh! The hot lights!" Emily beams at him proudly, "I made them!"  
"You made them?" Barry asks, "How?"  
"Like this," Emily turns back to where she arrived and raises both of her hands and flames roar out of them, reigniting the roaring flame.  
"She can throw fire?" Cisco asks from his side of the intercom, the reading on the computer screen indicating a sudden rise in thermal readings.  
"It comes right out of her hands," Barry confirms, surprised at the ferocity of the fire.  
"Good job, right?" Emily claps her hands, putting the flames from them out with the action, "And the hot fire never hurts me either!"  
"That's good," Barry tries, "But you better make sure your careful, because it can hurt others."  
"You sound like Nanita," Emily giggles, pointing her finger at Barry.  
"Barry, I think I got something," Caitlin's voice speaks calmly through the intercom, "Emily and Nanita Blair are two sisters who lived in a foster home. They had sneaked out of the house during the particle accelerator explosion."  
"So, they were turned into Meta's," Barry watches Emily as she begins to dance and create flames around herself like a special effect.  
"According to their records, Emily has a mental condition that keeps her in a child-like mentality. Nanita's was finally given custody of her sister shortly after the explosion and no one's seen either sister since."  
"Until now," Barry muses out loud. Emily smiles as the flames rise into the sky and makes various shapes from hearts to bunny rabbits.  
"Pyro Princess might be a non-violent Meta, but we can't let her roam free. What if she accidentally sets someone on fire?" Cisco points out, making sure to clearly state his newly formed Meta-name.  
"For now, I'll bring her to Star labs to keep her safe. Then we'll see if we can track down her sister," Barry decides, turning to the younger woman, "Emily?"  
Emily immediately stops fire dancing and turns to the hero, "Yes, Flash?"  
"I want to take you to my house until we find your sister, okay?"  
Emily's face scrunches into a frown, "I'm not supposed to go home with strange men."  
Cisco scoffs a little over the intercom.  
"That's a very good rule, but it's too dangerous for you to be out all alone and my friends really want to meet you. Remember, the ones I was talking to before?"  
Emily's face lights up again, "Really? I get to meet your invisible friends?"  
"Yeah, but when you meet them, you'll be able to see them," Barry smiles openly to the her, being friendly.  
"Okie-Dokie!" she giggles, taking his outstretches hand, "Lead the way, Flash!"

Barry flashes them to STAR Labs where Caitlin and Cisco are waiting. Emily is a little dizzy when Barry first stops, but her face quickly lights up like a kid in the candy store. She immediately runs to Caitlin and wraps her in a hug.  
"Will you be my best friend?" she asks into Caitlin's hair.  
Caitlin manages to return the hug a little, her arms pinned to her sides by the other girl, "Sure, that sounds great!"  
"Oh, goodie!" Emily pulls away to clap her hands. She turns her head to Cisco, who flinches in preparation of a hug, but Emily turns her head to the side as if the other man were a strange looking object, "Why do you have long hair? Are you a girl or a boy?"  
Cisco's cheeks go red as Caitlin hides a smile and Barry can't help but snort.  
"I can assure you, young lady, that I am in fact a guy and a rather good looking one too!" he scolds, his tone more defensive than scathing.  
"But boys are supposed to have short hair, like Flash," she points to Barry, "His hair is so short he looks bald!"  
"Flash is wearing a hood!" Cisco counters, "Not all guys have short hair! Haven't you ever seen Fabio?"  
"Fabino?" Emily scrunches her face in confusion, "What a bad name for a boy. Is that your name?"  
Cisco raises his hands in defeat.  
"Emily," Caitlin interrupts before Cisco can feel more offended, "This is Cisco and my name is Caitlin."  
"What a nice name!" Emily hugs Caitlin again, "My best friend has the fourth nicest name in the world!"  
"Oh, what are the other three?" Caitlin's curiosity gets the upper hand.  
"Mommy's, Nanita's and mine of course!" Emily giggles, pulling away to smile.

"Cisco, can you pull up a picture of the sister? I want to check the city for her. She must be worried sick about Emily," Barry motions to his sulking friend.  
"Sure," Cisco grumble sighs, still soured over the insult to hair and name.  
Cisco pulls up the most recent picture of the two girls, taken when they first arrived at the foster house. Both girl's hair were strawberry blond.  
"That's Nanita and me before the big boom!" Emily shouts happily, "Isn't my big sister the prettiest? As pretty as Mommy."  
"Yes, you two are lovely," Caitlin smiles at the other girl.  
"Okay, I'll check the foster house first, Nanita might check there for her sister. You two keep an eye on Emily for me," Barry flashes out of the lab before Cisco can protest, Emily waves long after he's gone.


	2. dhá

Flash arrives at the foster home, abandoned just last month, and is relieved to see a woman who looks like Nanita. Her white hair is pulled back into a tight bun and she was just leaving the building.  
"Nanita Blair?" Barry asks. The woman is startled and raises a gun toward Barry.  
Barry flashes and takes the gun from her, placing it on the floor and raising his hands in an non-threatening manner, "I'm here about Emily."  
The other woman's face goes cloudy with anger, "What have you done to her?"  
"Nothing!" Barry instantly answers, "Listen, I don't want to harm either of you. I just want to help."  
"Really?" Nanita scoffs, "I've met a few guys who've offered to "help" before. What makes you different?"  
"I mean it," Barry lowers his hands, "I'm the Flash."  
"Flash," Nanita muses over the name, "you mean that red blur guy playing superhero?"  
"I try," Barry smiles with a shrug, "I found Emily on Town's Street. I know she got powers from the particle accelerator explosion. We call them Meta-Humans."  
"We?" Nanita slowly makes her way down the front porch stairs, "Who's "we"?"  
"Me and some colleagues as STAR Labs. That's where your sister is now. Please, let me help you," Barry keeps his expression open.  
The Meta raises an eyebrow as she considers his offer, "I want my gun back."  
"As long as I get the bullets," Barry counters.  
"It's a dart gun," Nanita sighs.  
"Oh," Barry is surprised, it looked just like a regular gun.

Barry lets her have the gun, but takes the darts out anyway. He promises to return them later. Emily squeals over the intercom when Caitlin tells her that the Flash had found her sister.   
Nanita takes a little longer to find her footing after being flashed to the lab. It doesn't help when she's attacked with a hug from her sister.   
"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" Emily repeats, hugging her sister tight, "I know you said to stay put but the stars were so bright!"  
"Goose, you know better," her older sister chides gently, "Why do we have rules?"  
"For a reason," the younger sister sighs, finally releasing her sister, "I'm sorry."  
"Forgiven," Nanita kisses her sister's head before turning her attention to Team Flash, "What now?"  
Caitlin startles herself out of the touching moment, "Uh, well..."  
"Why don't you tell us what your Meta power is?" Cisco asks over Caitlin's lack of words, "We know your sister can throw fire. Are you opposite?"  
Nanita smiles, a small blush over her pale cheeks, "Not so easy, I'm like a human mass spectrometer."  
Cisco blinks at that, "What?"  
"I can scan, read and understand DNA or any substance really. As long as I can touch it, I can tell you anything about it," Nanita explains.  
"That is so cool!" Cisco beams, "You're like a walking human science lab!"  
"Do you have any difficulty recognizing certain compounds?" Caitlin asks, curiosity aroused as well, "Like maybe something alien or from another dimension?"  
"You guys deal with aliens?" Nanita ignores the question for her own shock.  
"No, not really..." Cisco weakly lies.  
"Well," the older sister sighs, "I've never come across it, so I wouldn't know. I don't really use my power that much."  
"You can control them?" Barry asks.  
"Yeah, that was easy once I got these," she raises her hands and everyone notices the thin, black gloves, "As long as I don't touch it, I don't go into Analyzing Mode."  
"Analyzer," Cisco snaps his fingers at the name, "Short and sweet."  
"Doesn't that sound a little close the The Annihilator?" Nanita frowns, "What about Sister Scan?"  
Cisco's face looks scandalized, "Na-uh, sister, trust me on this."

Over the next few weeks, Cisco and Caitlin work with Emily and Nanita to better understand and control their powers. Emily takes their lessons half-heartedly, most times their sessions are more babysitting than learning.  
Nanita, on the other hand, is very grateful for the help with her powers. She also enjoys the time for herself she gets as Caitlin watches over Emily. Cisco is all too happy to assist someone who doesn't insult his personal appearance choices.  
"I think the long hair suits you," Nanita says after Emily pokes fun at the "girly boy" from the other room. Cisco smiles at her.


	3. trí

A month later, Emily sneaks out of the lab again after Caitlin left to get them juice.  
"Emily's gone!" she says worried to Cisco, Nanita jumps to her feet and rushes towards the door.  
"Please tell the Flash!" she shouts over her shoulder as she leaves.  
"Where did Pyro Princess go now?" Cisco taps at his computer, pulling up the GPS device he had placed in a fire-resistant necklace around Emily's neck, "Oh, no."  
"What's wrong?" Caitlin looks at the screen to see the locator and gasps.  
"Barry," Cisco sounds alarmed when the hero answers his phone, "Emily snuck out and she's in mafia territory."

The mafia had a small territory by the docks. Definitely not a place for a girl with the mind of a child.  
Barry made his excuses and rushed into his suit and towards the docks in record time. Nanita was almost there herself, the GPS location uploaded to her phone. Emily was showing her power off to someone sitting in the shadows of a run down warehouse.  
"Emily!" Barry called to her, the young lady turned and waved at him.   
Heatwave stepped out of the shadows and waved too.  
Barry instantly flashed Emily away from the fire-crazy villain.   
"What are you doing here?" he asked.  
"Cool it, Flash," Captain Cold also steps into the fading daylight, "Mick and I were approached by this young lady. No harm done."  
"Mick likes the hot lights!" Emily claps her hands, creating small sparks of fire, "I want to show him my dance!"  
"Emily, Heat-I mean, Mick is dangerous," Barry warns gently, "You shouldn't sneak out like this on your own."  
Emily pouts, "It's not fun at the lab anymore. Girly-Boy keeps making love eyes at my sister and no one plays with me and, and, and..."  
"Love eyes?" Snart tisks, "Shame on young Cisco, taking advantage of young Emily's sister."  
"Can it, Cold," Barry snaps, "Emily, we can talk to your sister when we get back, okay?"  
"No!" Emily dashes back toward the two villains, to the amusement of Snart, "I want to play with my new friends!"  
"Emily!" Nanita shouts to her sister as she runs out of the cab, "What are you doing?"  
"Nani!" Emily waves, "Come play with us!"  
"Emily, Caitlin wants to play the princess game with you back home," her older sister smiles warmly, "You don't want to hurt her feelings, do you?"  
"No..." Emily pouts.  
"Hey, Emily," Mick smiles, "Why don't you show us your gift one more time before you leave, huh?"  
"Okay!" Emily giggles as she gets ready to start.  
"Snart-" Barry warns.  
"This is all Mick, Flash," Snart shrugs.  
Emily begins to dance and spins as her flames begin to grow.   
"Barry!" Nanita suddenly starts, "there's gasoline here, everywhere!"  
"Great job, Emily!" Mick cheered, "Make 'em bigger!"  
Snart smiled and winked at the hero as Emily's flames grew bigger.  
"Emily!" Barry called out to her, "Emily, stop!"  
The younger girl was having too much fun dancing and giggling to pay attention. Mick's eyes glowed bright with the flames as Snart took a few steps back.  
"We've got to get her to stop on her own," Nanita says, "If we force her to stop she might have a tantrum and cause an explosion."  
"What?" Cisco, Barry and Caitlin said at the same time.  
"She's only done it two times, but if she does it here..." she leaves the rest of the sentence for the others to fill in.  
"Emily!" Barry calls out to her again. He moves closer, the flames hot against his face, "Emily, you have to stop or you might have an accident!"  
"Na-uh, not me!" Emily giggles, "I haven't had an accident in a long, long time!"  
"Emily!" her sister tries, "Please, you're going to make the buildings go away!"  
Emily pauses her dance for a moment before shrugging and starting again, "They're ugly buildings anyway."  
"Emily, dear," Snart's cool voice cuts through the almost roaring flames, "Could you make your flames look like fireworks?"  
"Snart!" Barry growls, "We agreed, no more victims!"  
"There's nothing here but illegal contraband owned by a very dangerous mafia don," Captain Cold explains with an even tone, "Wouldn't our lovely city be so much better off without it?"  
"What good does that do for you?" Barry tries to figure out a plan as Emily's flames get bigger and bigger.  
"I'm driving out the unwanted," Cold explains with a shrug, "Emily, I'm going to see how far away I can see your pretty lights."  
"Okay!" Emily agrees eager to show off to her new friend, "Go far, far, far!"  
"Oh, I will," the older man smiles. Mick reluctantly follows.  
"I take it their not disgruntled ex-friends?" Nanita asks, a half-hearted joke.  
"Emily!" Barry notices the flames are almost touching the warehouse, another inch or so and it'll go up in flames, "If you don't stop right now, I'm going to throw you into the water!"  
"What?" Nanita and Caitlin ask in unison.  
"I've got to put her out one way or another. I'm not letting this dock go up in flames for Snart's benefit. Emily will be blamed and the police will be after her."  
"I don't want to go swimming!" Emily stomps her foot, "I want to let Mick see my pretty lights!"  
"I'm sorry, Emily," Barry flashes towards the younger lady and pushes both of them into the water. Emily's flames hiss in anger as they're doused and the lady herself isn't too happy either.  
"Emily!" Nanita screams as she leans over the dock's edge.  
Barry grabs hold of the girl and swims them to the edge of the dock, where he carries her up to the top. Nanita takes her from Barry's hands and checks her over for injuries. Emily starts crying.  
"M-Mick said-said he li-liked my hot ligh-lights," she begins to bawl and Barry could hear Cisco's eye roll over the communicator.

 

Emily is quiet after that, not wanting to play with Caitlin or even make fun of Cisco.   
"She's just pouting," Nanita reassured a worried Caitlin who was given the silent treatment after offering the other girl a bowl of grapes. "In a few days she'll be back to her chipper, giggly self."  
"Does she have to," Cisco mumbles under his breath.  
"Uh, Flash," Caitlin points to the TV where a news report bulletin was describing an explosion at the dock they were at, "Looks like Snart went through with his plan."  
"I can't believe him," Barry's eyes narrow angrily, "I can't believe he encouraged Emily and almost got her hurt."  
"Uh, duh, he's a bad guy," Cisco points out, "He's going to do whatever suits him."  
"Why don't you just flash him into prison?" Nanita suggests, Caitlin and Cisco look at each other awkwardly, "What?"  
"Captain Cold knows my secret identity," Barry explains, "If I put him in prison he'll broadcast it to the world."  
"I'm so sorry," Nanita smiles apologetically, then her face lights up, "What if someone else arrested him?"  
"He's already escaped prison once before," Cisco answers this time, "The guys got a bunch of people in his little band of Rogues, including his evil, hot sister."  
"Evil, hot?" for a second Nanita looks jealous, "You met her?"  
"It's a long story," Caitlin cuts in, "I think we should call it a day."

In a safe house somewhere in the City, Mick is tinkering with his gun and going on about the "fire girl."  
"If only I had her powers!" he repeats for the fifth time that day, "Then I wouldn't even need this gun!"  
"I can't imagine you keeping your cool with that much power, Mick," Snart frowns, "Looks like DeNario didn't get the message. He's ordered a new shipment."  
"Are we going to blow it up again?" Mick looks to his partner excitedly, "Can I use my gun this time?"  
Snart smiles, "Perhaps, first I have to check on a few things."

 

Barry is exiting Jitters when he sees Snart wave to him from across the street, before the man turns and walks into an alley. With and angry roll of his eyes, Barry follows after him at normal speed.  
"What?" Barry snaps the minute he catches up to the other man.  
"I was just wondering how Emily was doing," Snart shrugs.  
Barry flashes up to Snart and shakes the other man by his collar, "What were you thinking?"  
"I was thinking about making a new friend," Snart smiles at Barry's scowl, "Relax, like I said the girl showed up. Can't blame a villain for using the opportunities given to him, can you?"  
"Yes, I can," Barry pushes Snart away before he punches him, "Emily's like a child. She didn't know what she was doing. Don't ever use her again."  
"Touchy, touchy," Snart straightens his jacket, a regular form-fitting one instead of his usual parka, "I'll leave the little girl out of my nefarious plots as long as you can keep her out of them."  
"Snart," Barry warns.  
"Barry," the other raises an eyebrow, "Chill."  
With that, the villain takes his leave and Barry's mind reels with all the different ways to punish the man without breaking their deal.


	4. ceithre

"You are related to the older man who owns this hair," Nanita is saying as Barry enters the lab. She's holding Cisco's hand and her other is closed.  
"Correct again!" Cisco beams, "The hair in your hand belongs to my older brother. Another win for the Analyzer!"  
"Still not sold on the name." Nanita shrugs, but smiles at Cisco's enthusiasm.  
"What are you guys doing?" Barry asks as he approaches the two.   
"B-Flash!" Cisco coughs over the almost reveal, "Nanita here has mastered the ability to see the familiar genes in DNA."  
"Great," Barry smiles, how come he hasn't told them his true identity? "Now if we need to know if any two people are related, we won't have to wait for the tests."  
"Exacta-mundo," Cisco nods, typing something into a pad.  
"I'm still have a hard time turning it off without the gloves though," Nanita sighs, "Whenever I touch something, or even someone, I learn everything on the genetic level about it or them."  
"Have a little faith," Cisco chides, "You'll get there."  
Their conversation is interrupted by the alarm.

"Criminal activity," Cisco explains to Nanita's confused expression.  
"Someone's robbing the DVD store," Cisco reads aloud, "of all the things."  
"I guess the bad guys will steal anything," Nanita says as Barry flashes out of the lab, "Does he stop every bad guy or just every other bad guy?"  
"The Flash goes after all injustice, but he can't be there for every bad thing. We try our best to do as much as we can though."  
"What's his day job?" Nanita takes Caitlin's chair, the other woman at the park with Emily. Cisco bites his bottom lip.  
"No, sorry, don't answer that," Nanita sighs, "I'm not trying to figure out his secret identity or anything. Never mind, don't tell me."  
They listen as the speedster easily takes down the three teenagers trying to clean out the DVD store. It's almost comical when one minute they have armfuls of movies and the next they're in the back of the Police car.

"Cisco," Nanita says his name slowly, nervous, "do you, would you, you want to go out for drinks some time?"  
The last few words are rushed out and Nanita's cheeks are red with embarrassment.  
"Heck, yeah!" Cisco smiles at her, "We can go to this new club. Get our funky on."  
"Good, great, good," Nanita smiles back.

The club's music is too loud, but the drinks are pretty good. Nanita is a surprisingly good dancer and Cisco can feel the jealous stare he's getting from some of the other people. His smiles broadens.  
Caitlin promised to watch Emily at the lab. The two girls were going to watch another princess movie and make a tower.   
Everything's great for the first three songs, then Captain Cold waltzes in and Cisco freezes.  
"What's wrong?" Nanita voice is barely above the music. Cisco takes her hand and pulls her behind a pillar on the opposite side of the club that Cold is in. Unfortunately, that means he's blocking the exit.  
"We've got to get out of here!" he shouts over the music.  
"Why? Are you having a bad time?" Nanita looks sad and worried.  
"We've got unwanted company!" Cisco turns his attention back to the crowd and curses himself for losing track of the villain, "Let's go!"

Outside, Cisco keeps their hands intertwined and pulls the other until they're several blocks away and relatively safe. When he stops, their both a little out of breath. He must've been going faster than he realized.  
"What happened?" Nanita says when she gets her breath back, "You pulled me out of there as if the place were on fire."  
"Remember our friends from the dock?" At the other's nod Cisco adds, "One of them showed up unexpectedly. I don't know what Cold has planned, but I know we don't want to be there when it happens."  
"Oh, Cisco, you could break a girl's heart," Lisa Snart's voice rings out. They turn to her wicked grin, her Gold Gun aimed at them, "You ran out there awful fast. It's my birthday, too."  
Cisco glared at her pout, "What are you and your brother up to now, Golden Glider?"  
"Now, Cisco love, that would be telling," Lisa looks Nanita up and down, inspecting, "Who's your new girlfriend?"  
"She's not-" Cisco says the same time Nanita says, "I'm Nanita."  
Cisco looks at her a little surprised, "We're dating?"  
"I thought that's what we were doing," she mumbles, her cheeks slightly red.  
"Cisco," Lisa whines, "How could you move on from me so soon?"  
"We were never dating!" Cisco defends his honor.  
"But we did kiss," Lisa winks.  
The genius can feel Nanita tense at the last word, "You were using me! It didn't mean anything!"  
Lisa sighs, "But it was so magical."

"Lisa," the older Snart walks closer to the small group, hand on his gun still in it's holster, "What are you doing?"  
"I saw Cisco and his new little girlfriend running from the club and I wanted to chat a little," she smiles at her brother, "Are you all done?"  
Snart nods, "Better leave the little kiddies alone, Lisa."  
"Hey, Mr. Cold," Nanita steps forward boldly, Lisa turns her gun to the girl. Cold raises a hand to warn his sister, "Stay away from my sister. If you try that stunt you did on the docks again, I'll lock you away myself."  
"Really?" Cold raises and eyebrow with a smile, "You have a special Meta power I should cower in fear of?"  
"I-I," Nanita clenches her free hand into a fist, the other still in Cisco's hand, "I don't need special power to put a punk like you in your place."  
Captain Cold laughs, one big, loud laugh, "Cool down, missy. I'm not interested in your little sister. She's safe as long as she stays out of trouble."  
With that he motions for his sister to follow him and the two Snart siblings walk away from the couple.  
"You've got guts, girl," Cisco lets out a breath when they're no longer visible.  
"I'm just tired of people messing with my family," Nanita shrugs, "The government's been pushing us around for so long, I can't stomach someone else doing it."  
"You mean the foster system?"  
"Yeah."  
Cisco gives her hand a small squeeze before leading her further away from the club and troublesome villain siblings.

 

"Snart was at the club?" Barry gawks at Cisco as his friend retells the story the next day at Jitters. The two friends are getting coffee for their respective destinations.  
"Him and his sister," Cisco shakes off the memory of Lisa Snart's lustful looks.  
"I'm sorry, man," Barry sighs, "Was Nanita okay?"  
"Yeah, they didn't do anything. It actually felt like sister Snart was jealous."  
The speedster raised both eyebrows at that, "Jealous?"  
"She kept making it seem like we had dated, then she made it a point to tell Nanita that we had kissed."  
"Should I be worried?" Barry already looked worried.  
"Nah, I've got the City's best superhero on speed dial," Cisco smiles.  
"I wonder what they were doing there," Barry wonders aloud as they pick up the finished orders, "What could he possibly want to steal at a night club?"  
"The Snarts aren't always high-end thieves, Barry," Cisco chuckles, "I bet they were knocking it over for the cash on hand."  
"I think Caitlin's right. I don't think those two can go a day without pulling some sort of illegal stunt."


	5. cúig

It's two more weeks before Team Flash sees any sign of the Rogues. The Flash had finished stopping two amateur bank robbers by tying them to the handle of the vault.  
Snart was turning around the corner on the other side of the street. He hadn't seen Barry, but the speedster had decided to follow him.  
Snart zig-zagged through the City till he reached an open, empty lot with nothing but a discarded fridge to fill the space. Barry stayed in the shadows as Snart waited in the center of the area.  
Then there were three flashes and two men dressed like old time mobsters walked towards Snart, large guns bulging out of their coats.  
"You got what we want?" the taller one demanded more than asked.  
"Only if you brought my payment," Snart's body language read relaxed, his hand was resting on his Cold Gun.  
The shorter mafia guy pulled a small sack out of the inner pocket of his coat. He poured the contents into his hand and let Snart take a look.  
"Is that all of it?" Snart asked, "Because if it's not, you'll be getting an unwelcomed visit at work."  
"It's all of it, just hand it over, Freeze Boy," the taller, clearly more impatient one, demanded gruffly.  
"Freeze Boy?" Snart's voice was like ice, "Gentlemen, this is a business transaction. There's no need for name calling."  
"Forget this," Big Guy pulls out a semi-automatic from his holster, "Now you're going to give it to us with no payment."  
Barry is torn between seeing this play out, or stepping in. He has no idea what's going on and stepping in could make it worse. Besides, Snart got himself into this.  
"You know, I'm not supposed to kill anyone," Snart drawls, raising the hand not on his gun, "but no one said anything about injuring anybody."  
Snart's gun free hand whips out and smacks the gun away from his direction. His gun hand raises the Cold Gun and freezes the gun to the man's hand. The man screams with pain. The little guy swings at the villain and misses by an inch. Snart swings the butt of his gun in between the man's shoulder blades, knocking him out. The bigger guy had run away.  
With a smile, Cold reaches down and retrieves the bag of jewels from the unconscious man's pocket. He puts it in his coat.  
"Did you enjoy the show, Flash?" Captain Cold turns to where Barry is hiding in the shadows, "I was wondering if you'd zip out and step in or not. I guess this answers my question."  
Barry steps out of the shadows and closer to Snart, "What was that all about?"  
"A business transaction," Snart says simply.  
"What did they think you were bringing them?"  
"Oh, they thought they'd get the floor plans for our local police department," Snart smiles, "You can chill though, I'd never risk your precious little workplace off handedly. I knew they'd never give me my payment."  
"So, you made a rendezvous with two men you knew wouldn't pay you and would try and kill you?" Barry was amazed, "Where's you back up?"  
"Lisa knows where I am in case it went down badly," Snart explains, "I'm a grown bad guy, Flash. I can take care of myself."  
"You don't have to take these kinds of risks," Barry points out.  
"Right," Cold waves a knowing finger at the hero, "I can become a hero. No thanks."  
The knocked out mafia guy begins to stir. Snart looks at him, then at the Flash.  
"There are two warrants for his arrest, if you want him," he offers the hero.  
With a sigh, Barry flashes the man to the police station. Snart merely smiles and walks into the night's darkness.

 

"I want to help the Flash," Nanita announces the next day to Cisco. Cisco, to his credit, manages to spit his coffee back into his cup instead of all over the desk.  
"What?"  
"You heard me, Cisco. I want to help the Flash," Nanita looks confused at the reaction, "What's wrong with that idea?"  
"It's-There's nothing wrong with wanting to help," Cisco manages, "But, come on, what would you do if some guy points a gun at you? Or a Meta comes at you with their powers?"  
"I'll have to train for those events then," Nanita defends herself, crossing her arms and widening her stance, "I don't think it's fair for him to be out there all by himself."  
"He's not by himself, he has me and Caitlin!"  
"Caitlin has been helping out with Emily a lot recently and you two only sit here and give him directions!"  
Cisco's face drops.  
"Cisco, I'm sorry, that's not true," Nanita bites her bottom lip, "I just need to go out and do something. I can't stay here for the rest of my life."  
"You should get a job! You've got a natural talent for genetic breakdown."  
"Yeah, and how do I explain being able to figure out in minutes what it takes machines hours to figure out?" Nanita hands are on her hips now.  
"Then be a waitress or something!"  
"Cisco, I still can't turn my powers off, I can't touch people's food and see the genetic make up of it while I try to serve them. My head would be spinning before I was half way through my shift. I doubt they'd let me wear gloves."  
"Well, what did you want to do before the explosion?" Cisco tries again.  
Nanita goes quiet for a minute, "Nothing."  
"Come on, you must've had some sort of ridiculously impossible dream at least. A billionaire? A game designer? A ventriloquist?"  
"Honestly," Nanita sighs, slumping into the vacant chair besides Cisco, "with Emily being the way she is and us constantly being moved around in the foster system, I never even spared it a thought."  
They sit in silence for a beat, before Cisco reaches out and takes Nanita's hand. She smiles sadly at the contact.  
"Hey," he draws her attention toward him, "You're part of Team Flash now. We'll figure out a job for you. Nothing's impossible for this team."  
"I wish I had your confidence, Cisco," she smiles, "And my darts back, the Flash kept those."


	6. sé

For a change of pace, Cisco, Caitlin, Emily and Nanita go out for a picnic at the City park. Emily is all giggles and energy as she chases after squirrels and swings as high as she can pump her legs.  
"Your sister's so sweet," Caitlin smiles watching the younger Blair sister defends a little girl from a scary bug.  
"Yeah, it makes her condition easier to deal with," Nanita smiles sadly.  
"I know we've never talked about it," Caitlin broaches the subject carefully, "but what happened to your parents?"  
"Classic car accident on a stormy night," Nanita shrugs, "One night they're going out the eat, the next they're not coming home at all."  
"I'm so sorry," Caitlin puts a comforting hand on the other woman's knee.  
"It's okay," Nanita smiles, "I've grown stronger because of it. Emily doesn't even remember them, she has a hard time remembering anything or anyone she hasn't seen in over a week."  
"Did that ever cause an issue when you were in the foster system?" Caitlin worried.  
"Oh, yeah," Nanita's laugh was bitter, "They split us up for a month once. They put Emily in a special ward of a hospital. They thought I'd have a better chance of getting adopted that way. I screamed that idea out of their minds."  
"What happened when you two got back together?"  
Nanita's face darkened for a second, "Emily didn't know who I was. It took me two weeks to convince her we were sisters, but even now I think she's just pretending."  
"Your sister genuinely loves you," Caitlin comforts with a squeeze of her hand, "There's no way she's pretending."

 

When they return to the Lab, Leonard Snart is there waiting for them.  
"What are you doing here?" Nanita demands. Cisco has his phone out and is texting the Flash, while Caitlin is keeping a hold of Emily's hand.  
"A new friend?" Emily smiles, waving with her free hand, "See how nice his hair is?"  
Cisco frowns at the shot to his hair, sending the finished SOS text.  
"I come in peace," Snart raises his empty hands for a second, "I came here to talk to the Flash."  
"He's not here," Cisco points out.  
"Clearly," Snart deadpans, "but I'm sure he'll show up since you sent him that message."  
Barry flashes in, forgetting to put on his costume in his rush.  
"Speak of the speedster," Snart smiles, "I have some news for you."  
"Wow! Flash has hair!" Emily giggles, trying to reach it. Caitlin's hold on her hand puts Barry just out of reach, "Your hair is much nicer than Pablo's."  
"It's Cisco!" Cisco hisses, this not being the first time Emily called him the wrong name. They all assumed she did on purpose to upset him.  
"Just, out with it," Barry waves for the other man to continue.  
"There's going to be a rather large shipment of weapons coming in to our dear little City and I thought the Flash would be interested in stopping it," Cold enjoys seeing the angered defeat in Barry's eyes when he has to rely on his enemy's word for information.  
"Illegal guns?"  
"If they were legal, what would be the point in telling you?" Snart scoffs.  
"When and where?" Barry sighs.  
"Tonight at midnight, here," Cold hands him a piece of paper, then makes his way towards the exit, "Might want to wait for the deal to start before you break into their little pow wow, though."  
"Snart," Barry grabs the other man's wrist, "You better not be planning on double crossing us again."  
"I don't mess around when it comes to weapons, kid," he looks down at Barry's hand and the other man releases him. He turns a smile to Emily, "Nice seeing you again."  
"You too!" Emily giggles, "Can you stay and play?"  
"Not today," Snart smirks.  
Nanita snaps. She strides in from of Snart and slaps him across the face.

The room goes silent. Barry flashes in between the two before Snart can try anything. The other man's hand clenches around his Cold Gun.  
"I'll let that one slide, this time," Cold says slowly, turning the full force of his glare on the woman in front of him, "You should teach your friends how to keep their cool."  
Barry gently takes the woman's hand, trying to calm her, she jumps away from him, gasping. She looks between Captain Cold and the Flash.  
"What is this?" she demands, her face furious, "Is this some sort of game?"  
"Nanita what are you talking about?" Barry looks at her worried. Snart merely steps past her and out of the room, not interested in Flash's drama.  
"You and he are brothers!" Nanita shouts, freezing Snart in his tracks.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, that was the big secret you've waited Chapters to learn.


	7. seacht

Everyone is silent. Even Emily is too confused by the expressions everyone is making to speak. Cisco looks from Nanita to Barry to Cold to Nanita, then back to Barry.  
"What do you mean?" Caitlin manages to speak first.  
"I touched him and the Flash," Nanita points to Snart then Barry, "They share enough genes to indicate they are brothers!"  
"That's impossible," Cisco tries to laughs it off, albeit weakly, "They had comepletely different parents, how could that be?"  
"You don't believe me?" Nanita laughs, "I dare you to test their DNA against my word."  
The three original members turn their attention to back of the man still standing on his way out of the building.  
"Barry Allen, aka the Flash, somehow being my brother?" Snart muses, turning to face the others, "Don't make me laugh, that doesn't make any sense. I'm not going to listen to miss crazy here."  
"I'm a Meta," Nanita frowns, "I can see the genetic makeup of anything and anyone I touch. I touched you both and I know what I saw."  
"We're not related," Snart's eyes flash dangerously, "And I'm not going to stay here and listen to you four act like imbeciles."  
With those last scathing words, the villain turned and strode out of the building.

 

"I'm not lying," Nanita defends herself after Snart had gone, "It doesn't make any sense for me to make up something random like that."  
"Didn't Snart say his mother left him and his sister?" Cisco says quietly.  
"But, that can't be, maybe they share certain markers that Nanita confused as familiar markings because of the brief touch?" Caitlin offers.  
"There's one way to be sure," Cisco offers, his voice still quiet.  
"Barry?" Caitlin gently touches the man's elbow. He was staring at where Snart had frozen. What crazy world was he living in that Leonard Snart was related to him?  
"Barry?" Barry blinked out of his own thoughts and offered a weak smile to Cailtyn.  
"How are we going to get DNA from Captain Cold?" Cisco asks, "He didn't look too happy that we burst his family-past bubble."  
"His hair's too short to get a good sample, we'd have to get a mouth swab," Caitlin added, "Do you think he's going to show up to this weapons deal thing tonight?"  
"What if he does? Do we have Barry swab his mouth when he isn't looking?"  
Caitlin shrugged.  
"I want ice cream," Emily announced to the group.

 

Later, Nanita was walking through the Labs and found Barry sitting on top of a giant treadmill.  
"I'm sorry, Barry," she said softly.   
Barry looked up from his view of the floor shook his head, "It's not your fault you saw what you saw. Maye you did make a mistake. You yourself said you haven't mastered your powers yet."  
"Barry," Nanita thought it weird saying his real name after all this time calling him Flash, "this is a first for me, but, I hope you're right."


	8. ocht

That night, Barry waited with a camera to capture the evidence and men from the gun smuggling.   
"Make sure you put that camera in a safe place before you go after those guys, Barry. I am not paying for a new camera because you couldn't take the two nanoseconds to put down a camera," Cisco reminded his friend for the fourth time that night.  
"Barry, did you bring the swab too?" Caitlin asked, they hadn't decided what plan of attack they were going to try concerning getting Snart's DNA.   
"Yeah, but I don't think he's going to show. I have a feeling Snart sent me here to get rid of his competition," Barry sighed.  
A few minutes later, a short overweight man arrived in a black car. He had two guards with him. Barry took the pictures. Another man walked out from behind some crates carrying a clipboard. The two men talked for a while, their hands waving around and the one with the clipboard looked at his papers a few times and pointed at a nearby boat several times more. Then there were guns drawn and the Flash put down the camera and got into the action.   
The pictures and actual evidence of the guns were enough for the police to arrest all four men for illegal weapons trafficking. Joe glanced at Barry where he was standing on a roof. He smiled.

 

The following day, Barry brought a paper with him and found Snart at the man's favorite bar. He was nursing a beer at a booth and Barry could guess what he was thinking about. Barry dropped the paper in Snart's lap. The front page talked about the local PD and their bust.   
"Oh goodie, now I can read the comics," Snart drawled, pushing the paper aside, "Is this the part where you tell me I can be saved and all that drivel?"  
"Nah," Barry smiled, "I told you, you didn't have to admit it to me."  
Snart stared at the man sitting across from him, "What do you want?"  
"Just thanking you for the tip," Barry shrugged.  
"Got it, now go," Snart took a gulp out of his drink.  
"Okay, there is one other thing," Barry rubbed the back of his head, not sure how to broach the subject, but Snart had other plans.  
"No, we're not related," he narrowed his eyes and kept his tone steady, "Whatever tricks your new friend may have, making up an interesting story is one of them."  
With that, he emptied the glass and got to his feet, "You and I being more than distant cousins is far fetched enough. See you later, Barry."  
Cold left after that, almost as if he were escaping something. Barry reached across and took the glass. He left a few bills on the table to cover the cost of a new one before exiting the bar with it.

"Okay, I put the two samples into the machine," Caitlin clasped her hands in her lap, "We should know in a couple of hours."  
"Good, good, thanks Caitlin," Barry turned to leave, he had a few tests of his own to run at work before the end of the day.  
"Barry," Caitlin rose to her feet, "What if-Have you thought about what you'll do if they come back positive?"  
Barry didn't look back at his friend. He merely shrugged and left. 

He had thought about it. Ever since Nanita said it, even though it was ridiculous and didn't make any sense. It was all he could think about. First he was furious about it, then sad, and a part of him was maybe a bit jealous? How could his wonderful, loving mother have had a family before him and dad? How could the woman he knew and loved have left Leonard and Lisa with their abusive father? Did dad know?

 

That night, Joe West found his adoptive son staring at nothing inside the police lab. Joe knocked on the door, but there was no response from the young man. Worried, he walked over to Barry and put a hand on his shoulder. Barry jumped.  
"Sorry," Joe looked at him carefully, "You looked a little lost there, Barr. What's bugging you?"  
"Ah, no," Barry heaved a heavy sigh. He looked at his hands wondering how to broach the subject, or if he should at all.  
"Barry, if there's something wrong you can tell me."  
"Joe," Barry said carefully, "you knew my parents pretty well, right?"   
"Yeah," Joe crossed his arms, "I'd like to think so."  
"Did my," Barry rubbed at the back of his neck and sighed again, "Did my mother ever mention her life before she met my dad?"  
"Before she met your dad?" Joe repeated, thinking about the question aloud, "Nah, not really. It never came up. Why? What's going on?"  
Barry explained about the Meta sisters and what Nanita had said after touching Snart and himself. Joe listened, but his expression changed with every word. It became stormy at the mention of Snart. After Barry had finished, he was pinching the bridge of his nose.   
"So, according to this Meta human, Leonard Snart, the criminal, is your long lost brother?" Joe clarified. Barry nodded.  
"That's ridiculous!" Joe laughed, "There's no way that guy shares anything more than a City with you, Barry. Your friend must've seen something else. Not possible."  
"That's what Snart thinks," Barry's face made a semblance of a smile, "He isn't too happy with the thought either."  
Joe scoffed, "I'd think he'd love the chance to use a lie like that to get you to do something else for him."  
"Joe," Barry shook the possibilities out of his head, "I'm having our DNA tested, in a few hours we'll know for certain."  
"Well, you let me know when you find out that she was wrong," Joe patted the younger man on the shoulder before leaving the lab.

Barry walked to STAR Labs at regular speed. He was apprehensive to find out what Caitlin's test said. The possibilities were so far fetched in his own mind he could barely think about it without spacing out completely.  
His cell phone rang out into the chilly winter air as he pulled it out of his pocket.  
"Hello?" he answered.  
"Barry, it's Caitlin," the female scientist said on the other side of the line, "When are you going to get back to the labs?"  
"I'm almost there," Barry lied, he was barely halfway, "Is there something wrong?"  
"Well," Caitlin hesitated, "I think it'd be better if I waited for you to get here."  
"I'll be there right away."

When Barry strode into the lab, Cisco and Caitlin were standing side by side at their usual desk. Cisco looked like he was going to be sick and Caitlin looked like she was about to give a family the worst news they could receive.  
"What? What's wrong?" Barry looked around the lab for the Blair sisters, they weren't there, "Is it Emily? Did she run off again?"  
"No, Emily and Nanita are having a movie night," Caitlin assured the speedster, "The results came in."  
"What did they say?" Barry asked, wondering whether or not his friends were making those faces to trick him. Wondering, and maybe wishing, that they'd say it was all a mistake.  
Cisco and Caitlin shared one more nervous look before the latter said,  
"You and Captain Cold are half brothers."


	9. naoi

"Half brothers?" Barry took an actual step back like out of a cheesy movie, his body wanting to get away from the news, "What-How?"  
"The results indicate that you two share the same mother," Caitlin explained, "But have two different fathers."  
"So," Barry's voice failed him for a second, "So after Snart's mother left him she met my dad."  
"And they had you," Cisco finished for him.  
"It doesn't make any sense!" Barry ran both hands through his hair, "Why would she do that? How could she? And she never mentioned it? Never mentioned another family she left behind?"  
"Your mother had obviously changed her name and tried to make a new life away from Lewis Snart," Caitlin tried to form a good explanation, "She clearly didn't want to involve you, or your father, in her old life. She must've kept it a secret to protect the both of you."  
"Then why didn't she try to protect her two other children?" Barry's emotions were changing with every breath. He knew he had to blow off steam before he exploded. In a flash he was in his costume and on the streets, his red lightning a blur to those he passed.  
"At least we know the Analyzer's powers are working perfectly," Cisco tried to add a silver lining.

 

Ten muggings and two attempted house invasions later, the Flash was taking a breather in the abandoned park. The starry sky seemed to mock his pain. He felt like his heart was tearing apart. His whole life being changed without his permission.  
"Flash?" Lisa Snart laughed from the hero's left where she was sitting, her Gold Gun no where to be seen, "What brings you here so late at night?"  
"Lisa," Barry suddenly realized she was his sister. He was so focused on the other Snart sibling he never even gave the other a thought.  
"The one and only," Lisa smiled, relaxing into the bench, "How's my Cisco doing?"  
"He's fine," Barry said slowly, his mind spinning not for the first time that night, "What are you doing here?"  
Lisa Snart smiled, "I prefer parks when there aren't any brats ruining it. How about you? Are you here waiting to bust some delinquents?"  
"No, I-I was just stopping," Barry answered lamely.  
"Didn't think superheroes took breaks," Lisa frowned in thought, "I'll have to revamp my thoughts on you good guys."  
In a sudden shot of inspiration, Barry asked, "Where's your brother?"  
Lisa laughed, "I don't need Lenny to follow me around like a guard dog. I can take care of myself."  
"Just wondering what you two are planning on pulling next," Barry shrugs.  
"Ah, well," Lisa rises to her feet and stretches, "That's for the bad guys to know and the good guys to try and figure out."  
She turns to leave the park, but Barry can't stop the nagging voice in the back of his head from saying, "Can you tell him I need to talk to him?"  
Lisa waved at the hero over her shoulder. Barry isn't sure if that means yes or no, but it's all he's going to get out of her. He goes back out on patrol.

 

Detective West knocks on Barry's door the next morning. The young man hadn't come home before the Detective went to bed. It wasn't the first time the other was out late, but each time put a twisting feeling in his gut.  
Barry was sprawled out on his bed, his blankets still folded neatly underneath him.  
"Barry," He calls softly, then says louder, "Barry!"  
"What-Yes-Hu?" Barry pushes himself away from the bed and tries to focus his eyes on the person in the doorway, "Joe?"  
"Yeah, buddy," Joe smiles at the ridiculous bed head, "Have a late one last night?"  
"Oh, yeah, just patrolling though," Barry yawns, "What time is it?"  
"Time for our forensic scientist to wake up before he breaks his all time lateness record," Joe admonishes gently, "Do you want me to wait for you?"  
"Nah, no, you go ahead," Barry waves him off, his eyes never reaching the other man's. Joe frowns.  
"Barry, what's wrong? Are you still worried about that Snart brother nonsense?" Joe smiles, "Like I said before, there's no way Leonard Snart-"  
"He's my half brother," Barry interrupts him, his eyes locked onto the floor, "Caitlin got the results last night and we share the same mother."  
Joe is silent for a beat, then he strides across the room to envelope the young man in a hug, "I'm so sorry, Barry."  
"I still can't wrap my head around it, Joe. How could my mother do that?" Barry hugs the other man back, his forehead pressed against his shoulder.  
"I'm sure she had her reasons, Barry," Joe pats him on the back a few times, "What matters is what you're going to do about that information."  
"Snart has the right to know," Barry decides, pulling away from the hug, "He was there when Nanita said it. He's got to be curious."  
Joe's eyes harden, "I don't want to think about what goes on in the demented mind of his. It's your choice though."  
"I've got to tell him," Barry says firmly.  
"Do you have any idea how to find him?"  
"There's a couple of places I can check. I told Lisa that I wanted to talk to him, but there's only a slim chance she'll pass the message on to her brother."  
"Yeah, well, the only thing you can depend about those two is that they're not dependable." Joe frowns.


	10. deich

Leonard Snart is harder to find than Barry expected. The criminal, along with his sister and even Heatwave, seem to fall off the end of the world for two days.  
On the third day, as Barry makes his rounds as the Flash, he sees the tell tale parka making it's way into a museum. Barry flashes after it.  
The Snart siblings are barely past the first security measure when they see the resident hero standing at the top of the large staircase.  
"We didn't even get to steal anything yet, Flash," Lisa Snart, or Golden Glider since she's got her gun out, pouts, "Can you come back in a few minutes?"  
Barry turns his attention to the older Snart sibling, "We need to talk."  
"Really?" Snart scoffs, "What chilling new discovery have you made that needs discussing on this bitterly cold night?"  
"The same thing we were talking about the last time we talked," Barry avoids answering the question directly because he doesn't know how to broach the subject with the other Snart, "Can we go somewhere to talk?"  
Glider looks to her brother, her gun still aimed at the hero. Captain Cold tilts his head to the side for a moment before he heaves a sigh and nods.  
"Fine!" he turns to leave, "I can come back later."

In the museum's alleyway, both Snarts look expectantly at the red clad hero before them. He in turn looks at them apprehensively. Not sure how best to handle the news or what they might say once they hear it. What if they don't believe him?  
"Spit it out!" Lisa whines, "I've got a nail appointment in the morning."  
Barry steels himself for whatever the siblings might say before opening his mouth. First he brings Lisa up to speed on the Meta with scientifically based powers that she looks bored to hear about. Then, without any better way to say it, he tells them, "We're half siblings."  
There's a second of silence. A moment when the world seems to stop working and not even the sounds of the City surrounding them intrude on their bubble.   
Then Lisa Snart starts laughing.  
"Really? The Flash and Captain Cold siblings?" Lisa doesn't even point out her own spot in the family tree, "I didn't know superheros had a sense of humor too!"  
"It's not a joke," Barry keeps his voice calm and serious, "We all share the same mother, but not the same father. The theory is that after your mother left she changed her name and started a new life."  
"With you and your daddy?" Lisa smirks, the laughter having died down, "Why in the world would we believe such a ridiculous thing?"  
"I had Caitlin recheck what Nanita said and the results were the same. It's the truth."  
Lisa is still shaking her head in disbelief. Her brother, Barry's brother now, is silent, his expression unreadable behind his goggles.  
"Lenny?" his sister looks at him, a little worried, "You don't think it's true, do you?"  
Cold's frown merely deepens before he pulls out his gun and points it at the Flash.  
"What are you doing?" Barry raises his hands, "We shouldn't be fighting anymore!"  
"That's what you think, do you?" Snart growls, "You think just because we share a little bit of blood that we're going to suddenly change and become more like you?"  
"No, I mean," Barry struggles to come up with something convincing to say, "We're family now. Why should we try to hurt each other?"  
"Lisa is the only family I need," Snart's voice is as cold as the blast from his gun as he shoots Barry in the legs, nothing above his belt, "Our deal's still in place, but I don't feel like checking over my shoulder to see if you're following us."  
"Arg-" Barry grits his teeth against the immense pain, "Why?"  
He isn't given an answer. The two villains merely turn and leave, escaping in a getaway vehicle that Heatwave was waiting for them in.

 

"I can't believe he blasted you with the Cold Gun!" Cisco is steaming in his chair at the Lab. Barry is back in his regular clothes. He came in for training and relayed the story to the others after some prodding, "That's even cold for Cold!"  
"Cisco, it's alright," Barry tries to calm his friend, "Snart's a criminal. I shouldn't have expected the news to change him overnight."  
"Wait," Caitlin cuts in before Cisco can rant again, "You still think Snart will change?"  
Barry half shrugs, "I know there's good in him. Maybe with someone to help guide him he can turn his life around."  
"Yeah, and maybe a magical unicorn will solve the time space continuum," Cisco scoffs, "All I know is those two are bad to the bone and they will never change."

 

In another hideout, Mick is out getting supplies for the next job. Cold is staring at the Cold Gun.  
"Lenny," his sister enters the room, dressed to go out to a local club. She notices the lost expression on her brother's face, "Lenny?"  
He turns hard eyes to his sister. She shudders for a second knowing the ferocity behind those eyes, "I'm going out. Don't forget about Mick."  
He merely nods, before turning his eyes back to the gun. Lisa stares at him for a few more moments before leaving. When her brother got into deep thought mode it was best to leave him alone.

 

Lisa Snart smiles as she catches the eye of the sixth man in the club. She moves her hips a little more in a mini victory dance. She always enjoys letting off a little steam by teasing unsuspecting men in clubs. Her smile widens when she suddenly spots a familiar face enter her domain.  
"Cisco!" she coos, grabbing the scientist's arm. He flinches at the sudden touch.   
"Golden Glider," he says cautiously, he looks around for someone but Lisa doesn't even bother following his line of sight.  
"Come on, Cisco," she bumps her hip into his, "Come dance with me!"  
"I'm waiting for someone," Cisco tries to unlatch the other's fingers from his arm. She doesn't make it that easy for him.  
"Pretty, please?" she pouts, "Just one dance and I'll let you go, I promise."  
"Everything alright, Cisco?" another female voice cuts in. Lisa turns to see the white haired woman in a knock-out red dress.   
"Cisco, are you cheating on me?" she puts a hand to her chest in a scandalized pose.  
"We are not dating!" Cisco manages to get Lisa's claws off his arm, "Stop saying ridiculous things like that!"  
"You're no fun," Lisa pouts again. She turns her attention to the woman, "I forget your name. Don't take it personally though, I never remember who Cisco dates behind my back."  
"I'm Nanita," the woman smiles not too kindly, "We met outside of the club last time. Nice to see you like to change things up."  
"She's got fire, Cisco," Lisa winks, "I like her."  
"Yeah, because I need the approval from a crazy lady," Cisco shakes his head in disbelief as he moves to stand next to his date.  
"You two love birds enjoy your night," Lisa walks away from them, her hips moving to the beat of the music.

 

Two clubs and four hours later, Lisa Snart returns to the hideout. It's pitch black inside and there's no response to her calls for either her brother or Mick.   
With an over dramatic sigh, the villainous strides to the closest switch and flips it on. The entire safe house is wrecked. Everything is either knocked over or destroyed.  
"Lenny?" worried, Lisa runs to where her brother was last. On the ground is the shattered remains of his Cold Gun.   
"Oh, great."


	11. aon cheann déag

Captain Cold awakens to a pounding headache and something tight around his wrists.  
"Wakey, wakey, Captain," a gruff voice says from somewhere to his left.  
Cautiously, Cold opens his eyes and lets his eyes adjust. He's in a small, square room. Only one door in front of him. His arms are tied behind him and he's in a metal chair.  
"There we are," the gruff voice sounds a little too chummy. The voice belongs to a regular height man sporting a full pirate style beard and outfit, "I was worried the boys knocked you one too many times."  
Snart merely smiles in return.  
"That's the spirit!" the pirate man cheers, "Keep your spirits up!"  
"What am I doing here, exactly?" Snart asks once he knows he can make his voice come out clear and even, "I don't think we've met before."  
"Oh, no, we've never met before," the pirate shakes his head, "I'm new to Central City and I heard about a band of Rogues and I just knew I had to meet their Captain."  
Snart smiles again, "You're a real old fashioned pirate I take it?"  
"You're as sharp as they say," the other man laughs, "That I am. I brought you here to take over your part of the City."  
"And if I don't hand it over?" Snart can guess, but he's honestly hopes the man doesn't say 'walk the plank.'  
"Why, I'll make you walk the plank of course!"  
So much for small favors.

 

Cisco is staying late, alone, at STAR Labs when Lisa Start walks in. He jumps.  
"Where's the Flash?" she demands, her eyes flashing in anger.  
"Why-What do you need now, sister Cold?" Cisco stutters, wary of the other.  
"His newly found family is in trouble again," she smiles without any mirth and tosses a bag at the scientist. The contents clink and slide inside.   
Cisco looks at what can only be the sad remains of his weapon.  
"What did he do to my gun?" he groans, "I'm not your local repair man and this isn't just some toy."  
Lisa rolled her eyes impatiently, "Lenny doesn't mess around when it comes to his Cold Gun," she ignores Cisco's glare at the possessive term for his creation, "The hideout is trashed and he's missing. Something happened and I want the Flash to help me find out what."

"Cisco, what's wrong?" Barry asks before he's even fully turned the corner into the Lab. When he's greeted by Lisa's glare, his hackles rise and he's instantly on edge. Not to mention the fact he isn't in the Flash costume.   
"So," she tilts her head, calculating, "This is the true face of the infamous Flash," she shrugs, "I'm not impressed."  
"Lisa," Barry had intended to reveal himself to the woman when he thought she was ready. When Barry thought he could trust her with that information. Cat's out of the bag now.  
"Fight later," Cisco interrupts before anything else can be said between them, "We've got other issues on the table."  
"Your message just said get to the Lab," Barry looks from one to the other, "What's going on?"   
"Our place is trashed, someone smashed Lenny's gun and my brother's missing," Lisa explains in a nutshell.  
"Wait, Snart's missing?" Barry's eyes widen, "Again?"  
"We don't try to let ourselves get kidnapped, Flash," Lisa keeps her voice calm, but her eyes are hard, "Especially Lenny. He hates being rescued."  
Cisco scoffs, "Yeah, I can imagine the king of cold doesn't like being the princess in distress."  
"You should be glad you're so cute," Lisa taunts with a mean smile, "Or I'd tell him you said that."  
"Lisa," Barry warns while Cisco tries to get his heart rate back to a normal pace, "Do you know who might've had a beef with Cold?"  
Lisa's face scrunches comically, as if she had to think about it, "Everyone in or oriented to the mob would probably be at the top of the list."  
"What a shocker," Cisco comments quietly.  
"Do you think they would've done something like this?" Barry pushes.  
Lisa shakes her head, "They wouldn't dare come at us in our own home base. Besides, Lenny forming the Rogues kinda put them off in the retaliation department."  
Barry cringed at the thought that he had given the criminal group the nickname that was beginning to grow in infamy, "Who would try this then?"  
Lisa's face fell for a second before it was replaced with a blank, stern expression her brother would be proud of, "I don't know."  
"That's helpful," Cisco sighs, messing with the computer in front of him, "Without the gun there's no way I could possibly-"  
Cisco's sudden sentence derailing has the other two looking in his direction. His attention is stuck on the screen showing a news bulletin of Snart standing on an honest to goodness pirate ship on an actual plank! His hands were tied behind his back and his face was a little bloodied, but had that controlled rage they all recognized.  
"Lenny!" Lisa barked in anger, staring at the screen.  
"Where is this broadcasting from?" Barry asks, instantly dressed in his Flash costume.  
"Central City Park," Cisco answers bewildered at his own words, "The pirate ship is flying!"  
Lisa's hands clasps tightly to Barry's arm, "Take me with you."  
"Lisa," Barry begins to argue, but her eyes quell the argument.  
"Take this with you," Cisco offers them the Cold Gun, re-repaired and ready for action, "Cold's going to need something to protect himself with, but he better not use it on you or so help me I'll never put it back together again."  
"Thanks, love," Lisa winks, taking the gun in her free hand, "You're a doll!"  
Cisco waves even though Barry has already flashed them out of the Lab.  
"Crazy."


	12. dhá cheann déag

"Do you have any final words, Captain Cold?" the Pirate laughs, his robotic crew joining in. The flying ship and robotic pirate crew were as ridiculous as the situation felt. Snart cursed himself for it. He was almost grateful he didn't have to live with the shame of being taken out by some psycho space pirate.   
"The cold shoulder, eh?" the Pirate laughed again, "It seems fitting, Captain. Off you go now!"  
The Pirate kicked at the plank, making it wobble a little. Snart tried to readjust his footing, but he over counterbalanced and was falling, falling, falling...

When he didn't feel the immediate pain of splattering all over the ground below, he opened his eyes. When did he close them? The Flash and his own sister were smiling at him. Great.  
"What took you so long, Scarlet?" he couldn't help himself, the adrenaline of almost dying was still flooding his veins, "Were you really going to let your nemesis die by the hands of a space pirate?"  
Lisa had his hands untied now and looked at his face with unconcealed worry. He smiled at her, then smiled even wider when she handed him his gun.  
"Cisco fixed it for you," she pecked him in his less bloody cheek, "Make sure you say thanks next time you see him."  
"Not gonna happen," he tests the feel of it in his hands.  
"Snart," Barry catches both sibling's attention, "Uh, want to help me take down the space pirate?"  
"Why are you asking him for help, Barry?" Cisco's voice sounds annoyed on the other side of the comm., Barry's glad the other two can't hear him.  
Cold's expression hardens, but a smirk plays at the corners of his mouth, "Sure."

Minutes later, the CCPD are carting off a ranting Pirate and Joe is scratching his head about the flying pirate ship they have no place to put. The robotic crew are in varying degrees of destruction. Some are frozen, some covered in gold, a few of them are both, and the remaining ones are just plain destroyed. Cisco had complained about not getting a whole robot to experiment with, but Barry wasn't about to explain the manic glee the Snart siblings had when they were annihilating them during the fight.  
"What about these two?" Joe asks after taking Barry's statement. Both Snart siblings are standing on the rooftop Flash had zipped them to before the police could arrest them. They really didn't have any cause to arrest them, but Barry didn't want to waste time breaking up a fight between the criminals and the police.  
"Cold was a victim and both of the Snart siblings helped me take the Pirate down," Barry shrugged, "I don't think they'll be making any sort of statement though."  
"Ahuh," Joe sighs, "What are you doing working with those two again? You know they can't be trusted."  
"It's not like we planned this," Barry points out.   
Barry is interrupted by an officer calling for Detective West. Joe waves at them, letting them know he'll be right over, "I better get this wrapped up. We'll talk later?"  
Barry nods, letting his foster father walk over to the officer. He flashes himself to the roof where the siblings are still waiting.  
"Didn't think you two would wait here," he smiles. Snart looks at him like he's an idiot.  
"There are police surrounding the area below, it's not like we could make a clean escape, Flash," his tone proved what he thought of Barry, "You mind taking us somewhere less police infested?"  
"Right, yeah," it's a little difficult running with two adults, but Barry manages to get them back to the Lab. Cisco is surprised and a little scared when they arrive.  
"Why did you bring them here?" he almost chokes on the soda he was drinking.  
"Cool down," Snart drawls, removing one of his gloves, "We're not staying."  
Cold walks to the little area off to the side of the main area and checks his reflection on one of the polished surfaces.  
"So, Flash," Lisa saunters in front of the hero, "Why don't you tell me the name attached to that face of yours?"  
Barry thinks he can hear the other Snart sigh. Lisa is smiling like the cat looking at the canary. He sighs, removing the cowl, "My name's Barry Allen."

Lisa Snart blinks a few times, "Right! You're that friend that was with Cisco last time I-" she snaps her mouth closed. 'Last time I came to you for help,' remains unsaid.  
"Guilty," Barry shrugs, "You've got to keep that to yourself though."  
Lisa shrugs, "Who'd I tell?"  
Cisco scoffs, "Other than every villain you've ever met?"  
"I have morals," Lisa defends, and smiles at Cisco's pointed stare, "Well, loose morals, but they exist."  
"No one's telling anyone anything," the elder Snart assures calmly, returning from the other room. His face is still covered in blood, "Let's go, Lisa."  
"Wait," Barry raises his hands, "maybe you should wait? Make sure the police aren't patrolling? Get cleaned up? Caitlin can check you out, Snart."  
Lisa looks to her brother for the answer. Her brother's face is impassive, "I'll pass."  
"Come on, Snart," Barry tries again, "What if you have a concussion? I doubt you'll want to go to a local hospital."  
"I know what a concussion feels like, Barry," Snart laces the name with venom, "I'm fine."  
"But-" Barry wants to insist. Wants them to talk about what happened and maybe work through this wall Snart has up between them.   
Snart merely walks around him and leaves, his sister following after.  
"Man sure likes to live up to him name," Cisco remarks.  
"Yeah."

 

Joe doesn't come home that night. Too much paperwork and police procedures to endure to get home at a decent hour. The following night he finds Barry sitting on the couch, his mind a million miles away.  
"Barry?" he drops his coat next to the young man to get his attention, "What's on your mind?"  
"I can't stop thinking about the Snarts," Barry sighs, rubbing his hands over his face.  
"Barr," Joe sighs, sitting next to the other on the couch, "I know you want to see the good in them, especially now that you know you're related, but that's not how the world works."  
"I know, Joe," Barry sighs, "I'm not some kid with fantasies of them changing and fighting with me against the criminals. I just wish they'd be open to at least talking about it."  
Joe placed a comforting hand on Barry's shoulder, "Give them time. Who knows? Maybe they will."  
"Yeah," Barry laughs, "as if Captain Cold and the Golden Glider would ever really change. They're criminals."  
The detective heaves a sigh before saying, "I can't believe I'm the one saying this, but from what you told me, they weren't acting like criminals last night."  
"That was different," if felt odd for Barry to be on the opposite side of the positive outlook, "Leonard Snart's life was threatened. It was more about payback than justice."  
"True," Joe conceded with a nod, "But he didn't try to steal that crazy flying machine after you had defeated that pirate."  
Barry's eyes widened in thought. His grim expression softening a touch.  
"Of course," Joe countered his own positive spin, "He might've just done that because there were too many witnesses and he knew you'd never let him get away with it."  
"And there's no guarantee he didn't steal anything while he was on it," Barry added with a smile.  
"Knowing Snart, I wouldn't be surprised," Joe laughed, "Come on, let's see if we can find anything to make for dinner."  
The duo made their way to the kitchen, the gloom in the house gone and replaced with the smells of the kitchen.


	13. déag

Iris returns from vacationing with some of her friends and instinctively knows there's something different about Barry. His eyes are always clouding over in thought. She worries that he had a whirlwind romance while she was gone, but as the days pass and he doesn't open up, she thinks of darker reasons.  
"Barry," she places her hand over his at Jitters where they were hanging out after his shift at the CCPD. He looks at her, his mouth half forming the next word in his explanation of how this villain used a monkey to rob a bakery.  
"Listen, I know there's something bothering you," she smiles kindly, "I noticed it as soon as I got back, but I thought you'd open up and tell me yourself."  
"Iris," Barry fakes a laugh, "no, there's nothing to talk about."  
"Barry," her tone is serious, "we've known each other for far too long to get away with lies."  
'Other than the fact I kept the Flash identity from you for so long?' a cynical part of Barry supplies unhelpfully.   
"It's nothing serious, Iris," he turns his hand to squeeze hers reassuringly, "Nothing I can't handle."  
"That's the thing, Barr," she squeezes his hand back, "You don't have to."  
They stare at each other. Barry's eyes dart to the door, wondering whether to fake important Flash business to get away from the situation, or spill everything to her.   
Joe already knew, after all.  
"Barry Allen," Iris says slowly, warning him in those two words about what lying will get him and he decides to tell her the truth.  
He heaves a sigh, "It's a long story..."   
And it is, really, especially when Iris punctuates it with phrases like, "What?" "You're kidding me, right?" "Barry, are you sure?"   
Barry nods through her comments and finishes the story with a shrug and, "Now I don't know what to do and the Snart's aren't really open to any ideas."  
"I can't imagine villains being too keen on being related to the City's greatest hero," Iris keeps her voice low, cautious of curious eavesdroppers.  
"Joe thinks I should just wait them out, but," he sighs, "wait for what? Do I honestly think they'll switch sides? What if nothing changes at all? I'm not even sure what I want to happen."  
Iris walks around the small table to wrap her friend in a hug, "Thing will work out, Barry. I'm sure of it."  
"Thanks, Iris."

 

"I'm getting bored just sitting around," Mick announces for the third time that day. Lisa is long gone on a shopping trip and Snart is going over the repairs Cisco had made to the Cold Gun. He looked over to his fire crazy partner.  
"I told you, there's nothing interesting to go after."  
"Yeah, well, not every job had to be complicated," Mick raises his gun, pointing it upward, "We can just paint the town red. Red flames!"  
"Then what?" Snart raised an inquisitive brow, "What does it give us to set the City on fire?"  
"The thrill of it!" Mick cheers, on fire for the idea.  
"No," Snart looks back to his gun.  
"It's not like you've come up with a good idea. In fact," Mick takes a few steps closer to his icy partner, "You've barely mentioned another job at all."  
"Are you insinuating I've quit the criminal life, Mick?" Snart stills his hands, but doesn't look away from the gun.  
"I'm saying maybe someone else should plot the next job since you seem to be out of ideas," Mick smiles, "And I vote for me."  
"No idea is better than a bad idea, Mick," Snart places the final piece back in the gun. It lights up, charged and ready to fire.  
"Even a bad idea is better than sitting around here forever," Mick growls.  
Snart looks to his partner again, sees the need to do something before he explodes. He sighs, "Fine, I did overhear something about a secret diamond deal on the other side of town later tonight."  
Mick's eyes light up, "Can I use my gun?"  
"Just don't kill anyone," Snart reminds the other man, keeping the rules in the forefront of the pyromaniac's mind.  
"I'll try," he smiles.

Barry is at home enjoying dinner with Joe and Iris when he gets a text from Cisco about an explosion. A second later, Joe gets a similar one from CCPD.  
"Time to get to work," Barry shrugs, waving goodbye to his family before flashing away to get into costume.


	14. ceathair déag

"Mick!" Snart growls at the other man who is too absorbed in trying to make everything explode to listen. His arm is bleeding and every escape route is on fire. Snart's just glad his sister is safe, waiting near their getaway car blocks from there.  
The Flash appears next to him in a blaze of red lightning.  
"Snart?" he looks surprised to see the parka clad villain amidst the flames and explosions, "What's going on?"  
"My partner got a little overexcited," Snart frowns, clasping his arm tighter, "Mind knocking him out for me before he blows himself up?"  
Barry looks worriedly at the other's arm, "I'll get you out of here first."  
"No," Snart says firmly, "Any second now, Mick'll hit a gas line. Hurry up, Flash!"  
The last sentence is barked, loud and more heated than Barry had ever heard the icy man say before. He nods, grabbing a piece of smoldering wood on his run toward Heatwave. Barry uses the momentum to hit the wood in just the right place to knock the larger man out in one blow. He grabs hold of the Heat Gun in on hand and puts the man over his shoulder, flashing both away from the flames and out of danger.  
Lisa Snart is surprised when the Flash drops an unconscious Mick at her feet. He tosses the gun at her and she has the presence of mind to catch it. The Flash is gone before she looks back up.  
Cold tried to use his Cold Gun to get through a less heated area, but the flames were growing dangerously larger and his eyes were blurring even behind his goggles.   
*Creak!*  
Snart turns and manages to dodge a falling stack of flaming crates. Unfortunately, they were now blocking his only hope for escape.  
"Snart!" he heard the Flash's voice calling out to him, but he didn't know from where.  
"Scarlet?" he called back, then breaks into a fit of coughs. Barry's there a second later.  
"Let's get you out of her," Barry takes the other man in his arms and flashes them out of there right before another pile of crates collapses towards them.  
Lisa manages to get Mick into the back of the van as the Flash appears with Cold. Her brother looks terrible. His coat is ripped and singed in several places. His face is almost black and there's a definite smell of blood in the air.   
"Lenny!" she shouts, half concerned, half scolding, "What did you do?"  
The older Snart coughs a few times before answering, "Sorry, Mick got a little testy when one of the jewel thieves insulted him."  
"Why you gave that hot head that gun is beyond me," she frowns, walking up to her brother and locating the injury, "Now you're shot too."  
"It's just a scratch," her brother pushes her searching hand away and moves to walk towards the van and falters. Flash takes him by the elbow to steady him.   
"Chill, Barry," Snart rips his arm free of the hero, wincing as the action irritates his wound, "I don't need help."  
"Why are you pushing me away?" Barry seethes, tired of this constant tough guy exterior the other man puts up when he's around, "Just let me help you."  
"Why?" Snart smirks, "Because we're family now?"  
"No," Barry stands a little taller, "Because I'm the good guy and it's what I do."  
"Right," Snart resumes his walk toward the van, "and we're the villains so-"  
Snart doesn't get to finish his sentence because he passes out instead. Lisa shouts his name and kneels by his side, turning him over. She takes the goggles off, the clean circles left behind almost comical. He stays out of it.  
"Barry," Lisa looks at him with distraught eyes, pleading for him to fix it. It shocks Barry to see it. He hadn't seen that expression since that day at Jitters.  
He puts his hand toward his intercom, "Cisco, I need you to get Caitlin. There's a patient for her."


	15. cúig déag

Leonard Snart woke to the hushed tones of a conversation close by. He kept his eyes closes and paid attention to what he felt. Nothing around his wrists. He could tell he wasn't wearing his parka. His arm and lungs were sore. When he tried to take a deep breath, he broke into a coughing fit. That alerted the voices.  
"Snart?" Barry sounded worried.  
"Lenny?" Ah, so Lisa was there. Probably her fault he was where he was now.  
"Here's some water," Caitlin joined the cast of voices in the little room Snart was in. He opened his eyes and they blurred for a moment, then he focused on the water and drank the whole thing in two gulps.  
Caitlin took back the empty cup and left the room. Barry hovered a few steps away and Lisa was smiling in that, I was worried about you, way she did after a job went sideways. Snart glanced at his bandaged arm before looking at Barry.  
"I guess I have you to thank for this, Barry," he says slowly, keeping his voice even. His throat still burned, "When will the lovely doc clear me to go?"  
"Oh, Caitlin just wants to check a few other things," Barry assures the other, "Then you can go."  
Snart nods, letting his body relax into the small mattress. He turns kind eyes to his sister, "Stop acting like a mother hen."  
"Stop passing out like a drama queen," she scolds, smacking his good arm, "Who do you think you are? Elsa?"  
Snart furrows his brow and Barry hides a laugh.  
"Obscure references aside," Snart looks around, taking in the clean STAR shirt he's wearing and medical equipment attached to him, "Where can a man get another drink around here?"  
"I'll go get you a pitcher," Lisa volunteers immediately, dashing out of the room without another word.  
Barry stands in the room awkwardly. He shifts his weight from one to foot to the other, his mouth partially opening before closing in an aborted move of conversation.   
"What's got your vocals frozen, Barry?" Snart opens and closes the hand of the injured arm, it hurts so he stops.  
"Nothing, I mean, I don't have anything to talk about exactly," he clasps and unclasps his hands a few times, "I found the, uh, the diamonds in your coat."  
"Oh?" Snart lifts his chin, "You going to return them to their rightful owners?"  
Barry smiles, "That's the thing. I don't know who the owners are."  
It's Snart's turn to smile, "Just a couple of foreign drug runners. No one special, but it would be bad publicity if the Flash was caught paying a couple of crooks with valuable diamonds, don't you think?"  
"Is there anyone you won't rob?" Barry asks, a little aggravated at the answer.  
"Kids," Snart says simply, "I'll take their parent's valuables, sure, but the kids can keep their candy."  
Lisa arrives with the water then, Cisco following after.  
"Ramone," Snart acknowledges, taking the offered cup from his sister, "The Cold Gun underperformed last night. I hope you didn't cut corners when you put it back together the last time."  
Cisco bristles at the shot to his genius, "I did not! You should be glad I even fixed it, again, for you."  
"Thanks," Snart draws out the word, a smirk on his lips.  
Cisco ignores him in favor of pulling Barry away from the room.

"What's up?" Barry asks when they're out of ear shot.  
"Heatwave woke up and isn't too keen on staying at hotel Meta prison," Cisco explains with a jerk of his head.  
"I'll have the Flash get him out of there and somewhere safe," Barry nods, knowing Snart wouldn't be too happy with his partner's accommodations.  
"Another thing," Cisco looked nervous, "There's an uproar about the damage Heatwave caused. Apparently, whoever those guys ticked off aren't going to just forgive and forget."  
Barry sighed, running a hand through his hair, "Maybe I should leave him in there after all."  
"Leave who where?" Emily spoke up from the doorway. Nanita was there as well, holding her sister's hand. There was a picnic basket in her other hand.  
"Emily," Barry smiled, "what are you and Nanita doing here?"  
Nanita answered for her sister, "We came to invite Cisco to a picnic."  
"We're going to catch a butterfly!" Emily made it sound like the most exciting thing in the world.  
"Oh, well, I wish I could," Cisco faltered.  
"No, no, go Cisco," Barry motioned for his friend to go, "Caitlin and I can handle things here till you get back."  
"You sure?" Cisco was clearly torn. Barry wanted to put his mind at ease.  
"Cisco, I'm the Flash, remember?" he gave him a bright smile and the other visibly relaxed, "Go on, have a good time."  
"Thanks, man," Cisco took Emily's hand and the trio made their way out of the lab.

Barry went back to Cold's room. Lisa was lounging in the only chair, looking tired and bored. The older Snart turned to look at him as he entered.  
"Listen, Mick's in the holding cells, but he's awake and demanding to go," Barry hopes the Snarts don't get angry, "I could flash him out of here, but there are rumors that the guys you stole from and blew up are looking for you."  
Snart nodded, not even commenting on the fact that his partner was locked up, "Better wait till he cools down, then let him go-without the gun."  
He added the last part with a pointed look at Barry.  
Lisa snorted, "Yeah, at his current temperature, he'll try and set the entire City ablaze."  
"And with us two out of the picture," Cold added, "There'd be no one to keep him in check."  
"Keep him in check?" Barry crossed his arms, "You call what happened last night keeping him in check?"  
Snart shrugged his good shoulder, "Things escalated quickly."  
"It happens a lot with Mick," Lisa explained.  
"Why do you work with him then?" Barry was had often wondered how two opposites, literally, could be partners.  
"None of your business, Flash," Cold shut him down, closing his eyes to stave off any further questions.  
Lisa got to her feet and walked Barry out of the room.

"You've got to forgive my brother," she spoke softly when they were out of ear shot, "He's still sore about being rescued."  
Barry nods, "Is there anywhere in particular I should drop Heatwave off at?"   
Lisa shrugs, "Any dingy bar should be good. I'll give you some money to slip into his pocket. That should keep him occupied for a few days."  
"Good, thanks Lisa," Barry smiles genuinely at her. She stares at him like he's grown another head.  
"Is this you trying to bond or something?" she asks, "Because it's a little creepy."  
The smile falters, "What's with you Snarts? I'm trying to be nice here. Why can't you just accept my help?"  
"Because we don't accepted help from anyone," Lisa states like a fact, "We take advantage of people, we strike deals, we trick others into doing what we want, but we don't just take other people's help."  
"I know this isn't easy," Barry feels the frustration building, "It isn't any easier for me, you know. I just want us to be able to talk. Like regular people, like friends."  
"Friends?" Lisa repeats, astonished at the word, "You remember all the things we did, right? Or are you suffering from some sort of amnesia?"  
"I remember," Barry stops himself from raising his voice, "I just don't see the point in lingering on the past when there's a better future we could be focusing on."  
Lisa mulls the words over for a minute. Then she offers Barry her hand.  
Curious, he takes it.  
"I don't know what your angle is, Barry Allen," she says, expression open, "But I for one am willing to give you a chance."  
Barry smiles, shaking the hand gently.  
"After all," she adds as they let go, "I've always wanted a baby brother."


	16. sé déag

Caitlin goes to check on Snart the next morning and is surprised to see him out of bed and staring at the Flash costume.  
"Oh," she says, startled, "You shouldn't be out of bed."  
"Nothing but a graze and minor smoke inhalation, doctor," Snart turns to face her, "Nothing to lose your cool over."  
"You should come up with some new puns," Caitlin sighs, "You keep saying the same things like people will forget you already said them."  
Snart half shrugs, "I can't help it. They have a nice ring to them."  
Caitlin rolls her eyes, checking on Snart's bandage and checking his lungs.  
"You appear all right," she smiles. Enemy or not, Cailtyn didn't like to see people in pain, "I'd like to check on it again in a few days to make sure it's healing properly."  
"I'll see what I can do, doc," Snart smiles, "Thanks."  
Lisa walks into the room then, toting coffee and a paper bag that carries a heavy smell of cinnamon into the room.   
"Breakfast!" she beams.

"Checked on Mick this morning," Lisa informs her brother after finishing her cinnamon roll, "Passed out in the hideout, drunk as a skunk."  
"Good," her brother nods, taking a bite out of his own food.  
"Won't Mick try to knock over a store or something while you two are away?" Caitlin asks, resisting the urge to ask for the last bun.  
"Ha!" Lisa grins, "Not for a few days. He always waits a few days for Lenny and I to show up first. Then he just gets too impatient."  
"His impatience got us mixed up in this mess," Cold mutters.  
Lisa grins mischievously at Caitlin.  
"What?" the doctor asks, nervous all of a sudden.  
"You can have it, you know," Lisa rolls her eyes, offering the bun to the other woman, "You're on your own for the coffee."  
"Oh, that's okay," Caitlin tries to be polite, but Lisa merely shoves it into her hands.  
"You don't have to be picture perfect," Lisa giggles, "Especially not around us."  
"I don't think Team Flash is capable of anything remotely nefarious," the other Snart can't help but add. Caitlin blushes but takes a bite anyway.  
It's delicious.

 

Both Snarts are long gone when Barry enters the Lab later that day. Caitlin greets him with a wave. Cisco still hadn't arrived that day.  
"How was Snart this morning?" he asks the brunette.  
"Back to his usual self," she finishes typing a few things into her tablet before turning her full attention to her friend, "Lisa came in with breakfast then carted him away."  
"That was nice of her," Barry offered. He looked around the room, "So..."  
"You want to do some strength tests today?" Caitlin offers, "Cisco isn't here, but I can manage your vitals myself."  
"Nah, I gotta get back to CCPD," Barry shakes his head, "I just wanted to check on Snart."  
Caitlin nods in understanding, "If it helps, they seemed relatively nice this morning."  
Barry looked at her curiously.  
"I'm not saying I'd invite them to a social gathering, but it was nicer than the last time I saw them."

 

Cisco discovers later that the Snart siblings took the Heat Gun with them when they left. It doesn't seem to matter though, because Mick doesn't set anything on fire for the following days. They don't see or hear anything from the Rogues until Leonard shows up again at the Labs for his check up. Caitlin was a little surprised he actual came.  
"I happened to be free," Snart comments, noting her expression. Cisco scoffs.  
"The wound looks good," Caitlin says, grabbing clean gauze to wrap it, "No sign of infection. Keep doing what you're doing."  
"Yes, ma'am," Snart comments dryly.  
"How's the romance with the human gene machine, Cisco?" Snart comments as he waits for his arm to be wrapped, "She break your heart yet?"  
Cisco bristles, "No, we're fine."  
"I can see that," Snart smiles, "The love is just radiating off you."  
"At least I have a love life," Cisco counters smugly.  
Snart's smile widens, "If you say so."  
"Boys," Caitlin warns, finishing the bandage with the word.  
"Got to go, kids," Snart jumps from the bed, "Thanks again, doc."  
Then he's gone and Cisco is in a bad mood all day.


	17. seacht déag

Maiden Moth keeps Team Flash pretty busy the next couple of weeks. Her moth minions almost manage to eat through half of Barry's suit, Cisco wailing the loss the whole time, before they can manage to take her out.  
"I can't believe we used a bug light to catch her," Cailyn laughs from her side of the com., "Why didn't we think of that sooner?"  
"Because who wants to lug around a giant purple electro light through the City?" Cisco points out obviously, "The Flash would've looked ridiculous!"

Afterwards, when the moth-lady is safely tucked away with the other Metas, the Team go out for drinks. Nanita is home with Emily, so it's just the three of them.  
"This is nice," Cisco smiles, the music's not too loud and the drinks taste better after a victory, "We should come back here next time."  
"Agreed," Caitlin says as her favorite song begins to play, "I'm gonna dance."  
"Really?" Cisco is surprised at their usually timid doctor, but she's already gone and on the floor, moving to the beat like an expert, "I guess it's her jam."  
Barry smiles, swallowing his third drink even though it does nothing for him. That's when he notices Lisa Snart walking into the club with a tall, dark and handsome man on her arm.   
"Uh, oh," slips out of his mouth the moment she makes eye contact with him.  
"What?" Cisco asks, then groans when he notices who he's looking at, "Really? Again? Does she do anything else?"  
"She likes to go to the park late at night," Barry answers the rhetorical question as the villainous makes her way towards them.  
"Barry!" she coos, reaching forward to grab him by the neck and peck him on the cheek, "So nice to see you!"  
"I-uh, you too," Barry stutters, unsure what to say to the affection.  
"Cisco," Lisa acknowledges the gaping genius.   
"This is Drake, my date for the night," she motions to the man who's arm she's clinging to, "Drake, this is my brother Barry and my ex-boyfriend Cisco."  
"Pleasure," Drake says in a heavy Australian accent.  
Cisco fumes at the 'ex-boyfriend' comment while Barry stands stunned that she just introduced him as her brother.  
"They're quieter than I imagined them," Drake smiles, his brow furrowed, "Why don't I get us some drinks?"  
"Please," Lisa kisses him briefly on the lips before releasing him for his task. She winks at Cisco.  
"Lisa," Barry manages to get his mouth to work again, "You just introduced me as your brother."  
"Isn't that what I agreed?" Lisa pretends to look confused.  
"Well, yes, I guess, I just," Barry shrugs helplessly, "I didn't think you'd warm to it so quickly."  
"Is that a pun against my brother?" Lisa asks, unamused, "Because I get enough of that from him, I don't need you to start too."  
"No!" A horrible thought of Barry spewing puns faster than Captain Cold made his gut twist, "It's just an expression."  
"Good," She smiles. Drake returns with two glasses, "Tah, tah boys!"  
"Nice meeting you," Drake smiles, leading his date away.  
"We should just stop going out," Cisco laments.

 

"Barry," Joe enters the CCPD lab, folder in hand, "did you finish those reports on my case yet?"  
"Yes, here they are," Barry hands them over, "They were negative."  
"Thought so," Detective West skims over the report, "My partner thinks those teenagers who've been tagging the neighborhood were involved with a house invasion."  
"The paint samples didn't match though," Barry adds, understanding.  
"Meaning it was someone else wanting it to look like they did it."  
"Good luck finding the real guys," Barry smiles.  
"How are thing in your other job?" Joe asks, turning to sit on Barry's desk, "We haven't talked much about it."  
Barry sighs, "Lisa Snart has already taken to introducing me as her brother."  
Joe raised his eyebrows at that.  
"Yeah," Barry laughed, "Leonard though," he shrugged.  
"That guy's bad news, Barry," Joe warns, realizing that his son's obsession with his new family might hurt him in the long run, "Maybe you should stop trying to get through to him and focus more on putting the bad guys away."  
"I've tried," Barry crosses his arms, "Every time I see them, though, I just want to help them. I can't help it."  
"It's because you're too good a person, Barr," Joe squeezes Barry's shoulder.  
Barry shrugs, "I have no choice but to keep going through like normal and see how things turn out for themselves."  
"You know I'm here for you, right?" Joe makes a point to look the younger man in the eyes, "Anytime, buddy."  
"Thanks, Joe."


	18. ocht mbliana déag

Barry's out on patrol that night when a cold gust has him stopping in his tracks. There's laughter coming from the source and he flashes behind a large tree in time to see Captain Cold using his Cold Gun to freeze over a pond for two little kids.  
The kids, a boy maybe ten and a girl a little younger than him, giggle and squeal as they try to skate in their sneakers. Even from his spot across from the pond, Barry can see the edges of a smile on Cold's face.  
"It's melting!" the girl squeals, "We're going to fall in!"  
"I've got you Mellie!" the boy holds on tight with both hands.  
The two of them slip and slide, almost falling several times. Cold watches over them, his gun pointed at the water in case the ice was going to crack.  
"Thomas! Mellie!" a woman screams suddenly.  
Barry watches as the children's mother rushes towards them, shielding them from the villain a few steps away.  
"Get away from my children!" she orders, pushing them off the ice as best she can with her back to them.  
"Mommy!" the little girl protests, but her mother merely shushes her.  
Snart's expression hardens. He places the gun in it's holster and walks away.  
"Oh, thank goodness," the mother takes her children's faces in her hands one at a time, "I thought for a moment he was going to hurt you."  
"Mommy, he made the pond freeze!" the little girl pointed at the water as if her mother could've missed it, "He was nice!"  
"He was Captain Cold," the mother scolds, "He's a very, very bad man!"  
"But, Mom," the older brother tries to defend the other man, but the mother merely waves away their arguments and drags them from the pond.  
Barry watches them leave. He wonders if it's moments like that which makes Snart think he's incapable of doing good things. His own heart aches a little at the thought.

 

When Barry returns the suit to the Lab, Cisco's poking at the contents of the ice cream carton in his hand with his spoon. He pauses in front of the other man.  
"Cisco?"   
"Hmm?" the other kept his eyes fixated at the melting treat.  
"What're you doing?" Barry adds.  
Cisco sighs, "Nanita dumped me this afternoon."  
"What?" Barry's surprised, "I thought things were good between you two."  
"So did I!" Cisco laughs, "Then she drops this whole, 'you need to get over your last girlfriend' thing and' I want you to come home safe every night' whatever and 'superhero life is too dangerous for the father of my kids' bit."  
"You two were discussing having kids?" Barry hadn't thought the relationship was at that stage yet.  
"No," Cisco whined, "Which makes things worse! She kept talking about things we never even talked about!"  
"Don't worry Cisco," Barry tries to cheer his friend up, "You'll find the right girl some day."  
"Right," it didn't work, "I'll just die lonely."  
"Come on, Cisco," Barry tried not to laugh at the theatrics, "You're a great guy."  
"Who can't keep a girlfriend."  
"I'm not doing that great a job myself," Barry reminds him.  
"Well, that's just because no one knows your secret identity," Cisco abandons the ice cream on the desk, "I bet if the ladies knew what you could do, they'd be all over you."  
"No, they'd be all over the Flash, not Barry Allen," the speedster inwardly shuddered at the thought of being mugged by fan girls, "And one day a woman will fall in love with Cisco Ramone. You just gotta wait for her."  
Something finally seems to click into place for the genius. He smiled at his friend.  
"Thanks, man."  
"Anytime."


	19. naoi gcinn déag

Nanita finds a job in another City. One that offers additional services for her sister. Team Flash decides to throw her a going away party.  
"But not at a club!" Cisco demands, so they have it at Jitters.  
"You must be Nanita," Iris smiles at the other woman warmly, "I'm Iris, I've heard a lot about you."  
"Iris," Nanita returns the smile, "you're Barry's foster sister, right?"  
"Yeah, but we're also best friends," Iris gives Barry a half hug.  
"Iris, Iris, I-ri-s," Emily tests the name out like she can taste it, "I like it."  
"Thank you," Iris finds herself enveloped in Emma's hug, "I like your name too."  
"Emily," Nanita comes to Iris's rescue, "did you get any of the cake? Why don't you ask Caitlin?"  
"Cake?" Emily is off like a shot, barely dodging the other customers.  
"She's a bundle of energy," Iris laughs.  
"Yeah, she can be a handful," Nanita shrugs, "But family is precious in all forms."  
"Congratulations on the new job," Barry smiles, "If you ever need anything, you've got our numbers."  
"Absolutely," Nanita smiles, "Thanks, Barry, for everything."  
"What are friends for?"  
"And friendly superheroes," Iris whispers, nudging said hero.  
"Barry," Nanita says hesitantly, "I don't mean to pry but-"  
She cuts herself off, worried eyes searching his for something.  
"What?" he asks, curious.  
"What ever happened between you and that Cold guy?" she asks quietly, suddenly interested in the pink plastic cup in her hand.  
"Oh, huh." Barry falters for a second, "Nothing."  
"Nothing?" Nanita sounds guilty, like she was responsible for the other's predicament, "Like nothing, nothing?"  
"Nanita, none of this is your fault," Barry assures her, "You should focus on your new life with your sister."  
Nanita smiles, her eyes moving to her giggling sister who's dancing with frosting on her nose. Caitlin is desperately trying to wipe it off for her.

Then a car outside explodes and things get a little hectic.

"Barry," Cisco says worriedly.  
"On it," the other is already sneaking out and flashing to get his suit.  
"Hello, Central City!" a man with an oversized, green Mohawk announces atop the flaming wreckage, "We are the Core and we will be taking your valuables!"  
Masked men with neon colored Mohawks start attacking people, demanding anything valuable on their person. A purple haired one is about to walk through the door to Jitters, when suddenly they're barreling into an orange haired compatriot.  
"Hey!" their leader shouts, "The Flash's here, defensive maneuvers!"  
Barry hadn't thought the rag tag team would even know what that terminology meant. He doesn't bother to stop and mock them, too busy tossing one into another.  
Then one of them blindsides him with a crowbar and he spins, smashing through Jitter's glass window.  
"Ow," he announces to no one in particular, Caitlin and Cisco there with him instead of back at the lab.   
"Good one, Sammy!" the leader cheers, "We've got him on the ropes!"  
"Everybody get back!" the Flash tells everyone as he rises to his feet. There's dozens of them coming out nowhere. He can hear police sirens approaching. Good, someone called the cops.  
He flashes out of the coffee shop and throws his weight into the one who hit him, causing him to graze two other's in the shoulder with the crowbar still in his grasp.  
Someone catches him in the back with a plank of wood.  
"Gotcha!" their leader cheers again, still atop the flaming vehicle.  
"Twenty five to one?" an icy voice calls out, catching everyone's attention, "Doesn't seem fair, even by a hero's standards."  
Snart's standing in the middle of the street, Cold Gun out and charged. He's smirking in his classic Captain Cold way and turning his head slowly to take the scene in.  
"Who're you?" their leader demands.  
"Oh, nobody special," Snart smiles, "But if you don't leave right this minute, I'm going to have to resort to some pretty cold measures."  
That makes the gang laugh.

So Snart shoots the ground and causes half of them to fall immediately. 

Barry flashes out of their midst before the ice can reach him. He goes for the leader, figuring if there's no one to egg them on, they'd probably dispearse.  
He's right. As soon as they see their leader out like a light on the sidewalk, and the fact they can barely take a step without slipping, they all attempt to escape.  
By then the police have arrived and start cuffing as many as they can. When one of the officers approaches Captain Cold Barry flashes in between them.  
"Not him," he tells the confused officer, "He was helping me. The only perpetrators are the ones in the Mohawks."  
The officer's expression is doubtful, but he nods to the Flash and assists with the arrests. Snart lets out a laugh from behind Barry. The hero turns.  
"What?" he asks.  
"Oh, nothing," Snart smiles, "Just the Flash defending a known criminal. What will the reporters think?"  
"I'm sorry, did you want to be arrested?" Barry waves a hand towards the officers, "I can go get a pair of handcuffs for you. I'm sure a night in jail would be great for you."  
"No, thanks," Snart puts his gun in it's holster. He turns to leave and Barry can't resist calling out to him.  
"Thanks!"  
Snart doesn't turn around, he merely waves over his shoulder so the speedster knows he heard him.

 

"Then everything went 'Boom!' and I was going to go save the day, but Caitlin said I couldn't but I wanted to," Emily is reenacting the events for everyone. Barry is glad his friend was able to keep Emily out of danger. He wasn't sure if he would've been able to fight them and keep an eye on the girl.  
"Maybe we can pretend to fight villains in our fort at home?" Nanita suggests, which is apparently the best idea ever.  
"I'm going to miss you guys," Caitlin pulls Nanita into a hug, "Don't be a stranger."  
"We won't," Nanita assures, pulling out of one hug in order to be pulled into another from Barry, "I've got pictures of you to remind Emily."  
"I'm glad we were able to get those developed before you left," Barry smiles.  
Nanita stands before Cisco. She hesitates a second before pulling him in for a tight hug as well, "I'm sorry we didn't work out, Cisco. I really do like you hair."  
"Ewe!" Emily complains, covering her eyes.  
"Thanks, Nita," Cisco tightens the hug for a second before letting go, "It was great meeting you."  
They wave as the two women drive away. Caitlin loops her arm through Cisco's to comfort him.


	20. fiche

"Barry!" Joe's voice booms in the CCPD lab, Barry almost drops the sample he was working with, "What is the meaning of this?"  
"Wha-" the Detective drops a newspaper in front of the younger man. The front page has the headline, "Captain Cold & The Flash Friends?" The picture underneath is the Flash in between the officer and Cold. His expression looks serious. Snart's smirking.  
"Why is there always a reporter in the perfect position for photos like these?" Barry smacks the paper in frustration, "Where are they for the important pictures?"  
"Barry," Joe's tone is serious, "Are you making deals with Snart again?"  
"No, Joe, he was actually helping me."  
Joe snorts.  
"Really!" There's an odd feeling in Barry's gut. He can't put his finger on what it is, "He showed up when those Mohawk guys were going crazy. There was no deal making. He didn't even ask me for anything afterwards."  
Joe's expression softens, "Okay, okay I believe you."  
"Should the Flash be worried about that," Barry points to the picture.  
"Nah, people will gossip, but it'll blow over," Joe shakes his head, picking the paper back up, "Hey, did your friends leave already?"  
"Yeah, Nanita and Emily texted me this morning that things were good. I really hope things work out okay for them in their new home."  
"Ditto, buddy," Joe smiles, turning to go, "I got a lead on my home invasion case. I'll talk to you later."

Detective Joe West is a brave man. He doesn't scare easily and he certainly knows how to do his job. But Detective Joe West is still human and humans, regrettably, make mistakes.   
That's how he finds himself knocked down a flight of stairs into the basement of a house under renovations. He had discovered the man doing the renovations was responsible for a house invasion, using the same style of tagging outside of the house to make it seem like some disgruntled teenagers had done it.  
West had confronted the man about it, showing him the picture of his car on a nearby street the night of the break in. The man immediately bolted. The detective chased after him but the suspect managed to get the drop on him and pushed him through the basement door and down the stairs.  
"Great," West groans, noticing the smashed screen of his phone. There's something trickling down the side of his face and he knows it's blood. His vision's a little blurry. Why hadn't he made his partner come with him? Oh, right, he wouldn't listen.  
Slowly, painfully, he pulls himself up the thirteen steps towards the closed door. Halfway up he has to take a break and wait for the world to stop spinning. When he does make it to the top, he isn't surprised to find it locked.  
"Wonderful," his words are a little garbled. He takes another minute to breath through some nausea. When he feels okay enough to try, he moves at an angle away from the door and shoots the lock. The door swings open.  
The suspect is long gone, so the detective takes his time finding the landline. Thankfully, it wasn't disconnected for repairs. He calls the station and informs the officer about his situation.  
Unsurprisingly, the Flash shows up before they do.  
"Hey," he waves, a little embarrassed at himself.  
"Joe!" the red clad hero winces at the gash on the other's head, "What happened?"  
"Suspect shoved me down the stairs," the detective says with a resigned tone, "I can't believe I let him get the drop on me."  
"I should get you to the hospital," Barry moves to do just that, but Joe raises his hand to stop him.  
"No, I'll be fine," Joe insists, "I want to report my findings to the other officers so they can go after him."  
"I can do that," Barry shakes his head, "You might have a concussion."  
"Probably," Joe's eyes squeeze shut tight for a second, "It definitely feels like my head's been split open."  
There are sirens approaching. Barry is torn between flashing the man out of there anyway or waiting for the authorities.  
"I'll be fine," Joe's voice low but clear, "Get your butt out of here. There are more important things for the Flash to be doing."  
"Call me from the hospital at least," Barry waits for the other to nod before he flashes away. Right before an officer breaks into the room.

Mr. Cultrip, the suspect who got away, falls off the face of the earth. Barry checks the entire City for him and comes up empty. The entire CCPD has a manhunt for him for a few days, with the same result.  
Detective West is already out of the hospital. Strict orders from the doctor to take it easy. He isn't too happy about the dead ends.  
"It isn't like he's some sort of criminal mastermind," Joe sighs, looking over the information of the man looking for a clue on his whereabouts.  
Barry is sitting across from him at home. There are papers all over the table, just like in the crime show dramas. Suddenly, Barry gets on of his signature, maybe not that good, ideas.  
"There is a criminal mastermind I could ask," he offers slowly, keeping his eyes on Mr. Cultrip's tax forms from last year.  
"No," Joe shoots that idea down, "No way are you asking Snart for anything ever again. Period."  
"But, Joe," Barry looks directly at the man, "it's not like I'm asking him to do anything for him. I'll just ask him if he has any idea where he could be hiding out."  
"No, Barry," Joe rubs the less wounded side of his head. He can feel the beginning of a headache, "No good is going to come from trusting Snart."  
"But he helped me just the other day and I didn't even ask him to!" Barry points out.  
"Yeah, and I bet this is the reason he did it too. To make you think you can start to trust him again." Joe drops the papers in his hands, his eyes too sore to read them.  
"I'll just ask Lisa instead," Barry shrugs, "She's been in the business probably as long as her brother. She might have an idea. Besides, she's seems to want to actually try form something between us."  
"You mean her introducing you as her brother?" Joe sighs, "Fine, but Barry, don't go speeding into anything. Make sure you double check whatever she tells you."  
"Absolutely," Barry smiles, glad he could at least get the other man to agree.   
"And," Joe adds, rising to his feet, "whatever you do, don't make any deals with her."  
"Yes, sir."


	21. fiche haon

"Barry!" Lisa Snart cheers from the bar. The speedster had been all over town checking out various clubs for the woman. She's dressed in jeans and a t-shirt instead of her usual party dress. He waves at her before trying to squeeze through the crowd.  
Club Distri is packed and the music is making Barry's brain bash against his skull.  
"What brings you here, little brother?" Lisa shouts when he manages to get to her.  
"I have to ask you a question," Barry can barely hear himself, but Lisa nods. She takes his arm and guides him to the side of the building and down a dark hallway. She must be familiar with the place, because she opens a door Barry hadn't even noticed and then there outside. The building vibrating with the music behind them.  
"Oh, good," Lisa looks around the alleyway, "Nobody's making out."  
Barry clears his throat to stifle the laugh. Lisa looks to him expectantly.  
"I'm looking for this guy," he pulls out a picture of Mr. Cultrip, "He's wanted for a house invasion and assaulting a police detective. We haven't been able to find him."  
"Hmm..." Lisa looks at the picture closely, one hand gently holding her chin. There's a sound of something crashing on one end of the alley, but Barry doesn't see anything. Lisa doesn't even bother to look.  
"His face is familiar, but there's something missing," she moves the picture to arm's length and squints, "Does he have any aliases?"  
"Not that we know of," Barry hears the noise again, but there's still nothing, "He had a renovation company by the name of Down & Up."  
"Ugh!" Lisa's face looks like she ate a bug, "What a terrible name."  
"Any ideas where he could be hiding out?"  
The woman sighs, "Plenty, but I can't tell you about half of them."  
"Why not?" the sound is getting closer and Barry takes a step to the side to get a better look around the debris. He still doesn't see anything.  
"Dear, baby brother," Lisa sounds a little too happy calling him that, "I live with criminals and work with criminals. If I told you every last place we hid when the cops were on our tail, where would I hide?"  
"You don't have to hide," Barry thinks he sees an arm for a second, but it vanishes behind the dumpster.  
"Lenny said you were vying for the whole 'become a hero' thing," Lisa sighs, lowering the picture to her side, "It's not that easy, Barry."  
Two masked men jump out from the dumpster, guns pointed at the two. Barry raises his hands, Lisa rolls her eyes.  
"Charlie and Zed, put those down before you hurt yourself!" she barks. They immediately do as they're told.  
"Wha-You know them?" Barry wonders if it's okay to lower his hands, even though the guns are gone.  
"Yeah, they're my backup for the night. You caught me in the middle of brokering a deal, "Lisa waves the two away and they sneak back down the alley.  
"A deal for what?" Barry lowers his hands, but keeps a wary eye out for the two.  
"Bar-ry," Lisa says his name slowly like he's a child, "Criminal, remember?"  
The speedster shakes his head, not wanting to know. At least, not this time. So far the Rogues have kept to their promise of 'no killing' and he has to trust that.  
"Listen, to make it up to you, I'll see if I can find your lost bad guy," Lisa smiles.  
"Thanks, Lisa," Barry fishes out a piece of paper with his number on it, "You can call me on this number. It'll make it easier."  
Lisa takes the paper and puts it in her back pocket with the picture. She winks at Barry before entering back into the still beating building.

 

The Flash is fighting off a large venomous snake when his phone rings. He can hear it on the other side of the comm.  
"Uh, guys? Can you get that?" he grabs the snake and tries to keep the fangs away from his face, "It might be important."  
"More important than avoiding a poisonous death from King Cobra?" Cisco is astonished at his friend, "They can leave a message!"  
"It might be Lisa," Barry twists the snake's face, pushing it's own fangs towards itself.  
"Fine," Cisco mumbles. Caitlin gives him a sympathetic smile.  
"Hello? Barry's phone?" he answers the unknown number.  
"Cisco!" Lisa coos from the other side of the line, "Where is my baby brother?"  
"He's fighting an enormous reptile at the moment, can I take a message?"  
He winces when the cobra lunges at the hero and almost gets him with his fangs. He's grateful for the video feeds from the zoo where the hero is fighting the hybrid.  
"Well, when he's done playing around, tell him the man he's looking for is going to book it out of the City on the next boat," Lisa seems annoyed that attention was being taken away from her by a leg-less animal.  
"Barry won't be able to get there in time," Cisco angers at her tone, "Can't you stall him or something?"  
"I'm not the hero in this family relationship," Lisa unhelpfully points out, "Barry only asked me to find him. That's what I did."  
"Yeah, well, all your 'help' is going to be meaningless if the bad guy gets away," Cisco doesn't know what he's trying to do. He doesn't actually expect the Golden Glider to help out the police, of all people.  
"I could do something," Lisa says slowly, "For a price."  
"For once I wish you'd Snarts would just do something helpful for the sake of helping!" Cisco is done with this conversation, but curiosity keeps him on the line.  
"One date, no clubs," she makes sure to add the second part quickly, "No promise of a forever, just a date."  
"With Barry?" Cisco's brain is balking at the idea.  
"What? Ewe! Cisco, what is wrong with you?" Lisa balked at the idea too, "With you, you genius oaf!"  
"Oh," he decides to let the 'oaf' part slide, "Fine, deal."  
"Goody!" Lisa ends the call.  
"What did you just do?" Caitlin asks, her brow furrowed in worry.  
"I made a date with Golden Glider."  
"Cisco," Caitlin sighs.  
"You did what?" Barry asks from the comm. He's managed to trap the snake's head and is administering the serum to knock it out.  
"Dude, I have a date with your sister," Cisco vocalizes what his brain had just realized. His world hazes for a second.  
"What? Why?" the speedster tries to catch his breath. The snake lays still, it's breath even and slow as it sleeps.  
"It's complicated," Cisco answers weakly, "Let's get the big boy in his new home before he wakes up again."

That night the police get an anonymous tip and find Mr. Cultrip trapped in a shipping container. The ends are sealed with gold.


	22. fiche dó

"Argh!" Cisco growls as he walks into the lab. He had spilled something on the third shirt that day. Caitlin jumped at the noise.  
"What's the matter?" she puts the tablet she was working with down, focusing on her simmering friend.  
"I've already gone through two other shirts today and that was after I went through a dozen at them. I couldn't decide what genre I should wear and for a brief moment, a very brief moment, I thought about wearing a plain shirt, but I didn't want her to think I was trying-because I'm definitely not trying to do, anything!" Cisco paces back and forth as he talks, his hands flailing up and down to emphasize. Caitlin hides a smile.  
"Cisco, are you," she almost laughs, "Are you nervous?"  
"Pff-Nerv-What?" the genius puts his hands on his hips defiantly, "I am not, so not, nervous about meeting a super villain chick at all. That would be nonsense, Caitlin. I can't believe you'd even think that."  
"Oh, well," Caitlin raises her hands in defeat, "It certainly looks like you're not nervous."  
"That' right," he points a finger at her, "Because I'm not."  
"Right," she returns to her tablet, "Of course, if you were, you could always talk about it."  
"Too bad there's nothing to talk about," he repeats, crossing his arms, only to be reminded he spilled something on it. He growls at wet spot as if he can intimidate it away.  
"Don't you have some spare shirts in the lockers or something?" Caitlin reminds him, taking pity on her friend, "There's at least the flying cat one."  
Cisco groans, "Most of those are dirty too, I just haven't had a chance to wash them."  
"And you wouldn't want to show up to your date smelling bad," Caitlin was trying to be serious, but it came out sounding sarcastic.  
"You are not helping," Cisco points at her again before he leaves the lab. He needs to go get another shirt...And maybe grab a spare...

 

"My, my, don't you look dashing, Cisco?" Lisa's eyes run up and down the genius suggestively. He shudders.  
"Thanks, you look amazing," and she does, with a shimmering red dress that has a slit that reaches just above her knee, "Where are we going?"  
"Just a little place I know," she smiles, putting her arm through his, "No villains, I promise."  
"Yeah, right," he sounds skeptical, but he's actually pretty certain that Lisa Snart wouldn't want her night to be interrupted by anyone.

The place isn't little. It's a skyscraper and the genius is certain it's the type of place you have to make your reservations in a year's advance to get in. He swallows the lump in his throat, glad he decided on the plain shirt and loose coat jacket.  
"Table for Cisco," Lisa smiles at the pointed nose head waiter. He smiles back at her and turns his nose up at Cisco, "This way."  
He takes them to a small table for two at one of the windows. The place is maybe half full with people whose wardrobe screamed 'money.' For a second Cisco wonders if his date is considering robbing the place before she leaves.  
"I'll bring your wine while you look over your order," the pointed nose waiter says, gently placing the menus before them. Lisa smiles a thank you to him.

"What the heck, Lisa?" Cisco hisses across the table once the waiter's out of earshot.  
"Something the matter, love?" Lisa feigns ignorance. Pretending she doesn't know exactly what the man across from her is talking about.  
"How does a crim-" he stops himself, worried about anyone close enough to hear them, "How does someone in 'your line of work' get into a place like this?"  
Lisa laughs, light and lofty like she was born into royalty, "Cisco, you are a dear."  
"I'm serious," he's starting to sweat a little. There's an overweight man with a perfectly trimmed beard casting the occasional glance toward them.  
Suddenly there's a hand on his and he jumps, banging his knee against the bottom of the table. Lisa merely pats the hand and smiles.  
"Relax, no one here knows who we are and frankly, as long as we pay, they don't care," she assures him, her hand squeezing slightly before pulling away.  
Cisco decides to leave it at that, figuring he could prod the info out of the woman later. Then he looks at menu and fails to see any prices. Which can mean two things: One, the printer ran out of ink or Two, the food here is ridiculously expensive. He starts to sweat again.  
"Your wine," a new, younger, waiter brings the bottle over and pours their glasses half way, "Are you ready for an appetizer?"  
"It all looks so good," Lisa sighs as if she's done this a thousand time. Maybe she had? Maybe the Snarts just pretended to be low life criminals but really lived in the high life?  
"I recommend the quiche sampler, miss," the waiter smiles, "It's a personal favorite."  
"Then we'll take that and I'll have the rosemary, roasted pepper chicken while my date takes the sweet steak, medium rare."  
"Very good, miss," the waiter takes their menus and the bottle with him. Cisco gulps half of the wine immediately and wishes the waiter had left the bottle.  
"Easy, Tiger," Lisa laughs lightly, taking a sip out of her glass.  
"Lisa, there weren't any prices on that menu," Cisco swallows again like the wine didn't go down the first time, "How on earth do you intend to pay?"  
Lisa leans forward in her seat, fingers interlocking so her chin can rest on them, "You are so cute when you're worried. Not that you aren't cute regularly."  
"Lisa," Cisco almost whines, almost, he isn't a child, he just wants some answers!  
She reaches over to take his hand again, "For once, just let things go. Go with the flow and all that. Don't worry about it. I've got this."  
"Sure," he scoffs, "I'll just let you pay for an overpriced meal with money you 'acquired' from other people."  
"Even in a 'real job,' as you would say, people get money from other people. I just do it differently. Although, if you want to get into politics, I guess it isn't too different."  
That makes the genius laugh, it startles the people in the nearby tables. He smiles weakly at them in apology.  
"There we go," Lisa smiles, "Loosen up, Babe."  
"Hey, we are not up to pet names yet," Cisco flusters.  
"Yet?"   
"What have I gotten myself into?" Cisco groans inwardly.


	23. fiche trí

"How did the date go?" Cailtin asks the next day, as soon as her friend had entered the lab. Her expression is part nervous/worried, part overwhelming glee.  
"Why are you so peppy?" Cisco deflects, moving to the computer terminal.  
"Come on, Cisco," Cailtin rolls her chair next to him, "Spill."  
Cisco heaves a huge sigh, but it's all theatrics. He's actually buzzing with energy and he doesn't know what to do. What to think. He was just going there to complete the deal, but then... "We went out, had a good time, and she kissed me goodnight."  
The last few words were spat out as fast as Cisco could say them. Understandably, Caitlin did a double take.  
"What?"  
"We ate, we talked, we got along pretty well..." the genius left the rest vague.  
Well, he tried to, but Caitlin smacked him.  
"Fine we kissed, okay?!"   
"Who kissed who?" Barry joined in at Cisco's outburst.  
"Cisco kissed Lisa Snart," Caitlin provides. Barry looks at his friend with an expression that could only be described as, 'What-the-what?'  
"Listen, it happened, okay? We are mature, well maybe semi-mature on her part, adults and I do not need any judgmental stares from either of you." he points to both parties, expecting them to make fun of him at any moment.  
"Cisco, I'm not judging you," Barry smiles, "I just thought you weren't into her since what happened between you last time."  
"Yeah," Caitlin places a comforting hand on his shoulder, "If you've forgiven her, then that's good enough for us. We're your friends and we're here to support you."  
That deflates the young man visibly. He sags into his chair and mumbles his thanks.   
"I think the problem is more you than us anyway," Barry points out, "Did you not like the kiss?"  
Caitlin gasps, pulling her hand away, "Is Lisa Snart a bad kisser?"  
"How old are you two?" Cisco straightens to sit more comfortably in his chair, "You're acting like juniors in high school."  
"Then what plans does our 'mature adult' have for next time?" Caitlin stares at her friend expectantly.  
"Plans? We have no plans. Criminals and crime fighters don't make plans!" Cisco's voice is rising.  
"They totally have plans," Barry and Caitlin tell each other.  
"Guys, no, well, no, just don't," he's pointing at them again, like his finger can command them to do his will. They're not even paying attention to him anymore.   
"There aren't any plans," he mumbles to himself.


	24. fiche ceathair

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *To avoid confusion: The Parts in the beginning where the sentence ends in [ ] - Those are texts. The texts end after the first paragraph & we go back to "normal" with the word "Wardrobe."

Had a great time last night! xoxo [Unknown Number]

Who's this? [Cisco] 

Mean! It's your Golden Girl! ;-) [Unknown Number]

How did you get my phone number?!?! [Cisco]

I texted myself with it when you weren't looking. You're so cute when you're clueless! ^_^ [G. G.]

THAT'S AN INVASION OF PRIVACY! AND WE WERE ON A DATE! [Cisco]

Awe! Honey, I'm sorry to upset you into using ALL CAPS! [G. G.]  
I know! I'll make it up to you, babe! Meet me tonight at the park. :-) [G. G.]

What? No! I'm not going anywhere! Especially NOT at night! [Cisco]

Come on! :-( [G. G.]  
We already went out once and it was great! Can't you trust me? [G. G.]

No! I can definitely, absolutely, emphatically, NOT trust you! [Cisco]

Please? :-( [G. G.]  
Please? :-/ [G. G.]  
Please? :-) [G. G.]  
Please? Please? PLEASE? PLEASE? PLEEAASE?!?! ^_^ [G. G.]

Fine! Stop raising my phone's texting bill! [Cisco]

You should change plans. Oh! We could get a deal with my company if we go in as a couple! =D [G. G.]

WE ARE NOT A COUPLE! [Cisco]

 

Wardrobe was a little easier for the genius the second time around. 'Go to the park' didn't actually cause mental strain when it came to clothes. Cisco wished he had brought a warmer jacket, though, because it was freezing.  
Considering who's sister he was meeting, that was ironic.  
Cisco's body went rigid suddenly. A light went on in his brain.  
"What are your intentions with my sister?" Snart's voice rang through his head.  
"What have I done?" he whispered to himself.  
An arm slid through his shivering one, making Cisco feel warm and freezing him at the same time, "Hey there, handsome."   
He turned his head to Lisa Snart, her hair pulled back into a simple braid. She was wearing a much warmer coat.  
"Have you been waiting long? I realized a little late that I forgot to set a time for our date. Oh!" she cheered for herself, fists coming up in victory, "I made a rhyme!"  
"You're a regular poet," fell out of Cisco's mouth without his permission. He was too busy thinking about all the ways one could die by cold to filter his comments.  
"What's up buttercup?" Lisa smiles, tugging him in a little tighter. He appreciated the added warmth, "You're awful quiet."  
Vaguely, Cisco realized they were already walking through the park. Any outsider would think they were an average loving couple. Not a female criminal and future victim.  
"Cisco," Lisa stops them under a lamp, "What's wrong?"  
"Uh, I just realized," Cisco uses the cold air to swallow the lump in his throat, "Your brother, is uh-"  
"Barry?" Lisa's face scrunches up in a question.  
"No, why do you always assume him first these days?" Cisco's tone is going to anger fast, "Captain Cold, of course!"  
"What about him?" Lisa shrugs, "Wait, you don't have a crush on him, do you?"  
"No, no way, no!" Cisco pulls away from the woman, illogically worried the man they were talking about would pop out of the bushes to shoot him, "He's going to kill me if we start dating for real!"  
"Oh, please," Lisa rolls her eyes, reclaiming her hold on the man's arm, "My brother does not control my life. He could care less about who I date."  
"But, back at my house, he was-"  
Lisa cuts off his rant, "That was all for show, honey. Big brother couldn't care less. Actually, I think he could, but only if he really, really wanted to."  
The weight of the world falls off Cisco's shoulders. He's pretty sure ten years of his life are gone forever, but at least he'll have a life.  
"It's a little sad though," Lisa pouts, they're walking again, "My brave, smart, boyfriend afraid of a guy with a gun. What's the point in being a good guy if you're afraid of the bad guys?"  
"I'm not afraid," Cisco immediately defends, but it doesn't sound convincing, "I was merely concerned."  
"Concerned Lenny was going to turn you into a Cisco-cycle?" Lisa giggles, poking the man in the ribs.  
"Hey, stop it, Lisa!"  
She continues to poke and tickle him until he manages to free himself from her iron grip. She laughing harder than he is, but he's several shades redder than her.  
Cisco doesn't even argue the fact she called him her boyfriend.

 

"Hold it, Cisco and Lisa Snart are dating?" Joe West and Barry were enjoying a rare lunch break. The two of them were at a local sandwich shop and Barry was filling him in on the random facts. Namely: Cisco's new girlfriend.  
"Yeah, I mean, I never thought they'd get together for real," Barry smiles, wiping a tomato blob off his face with a napkin, "But they've been going out on and off for a few weeks now."  
"Wow," Joe's shakes his head in disbelief, "I thought that boy was smart enough to know to stay away from anyone with the name Snart."   
"Come on, Joe," Barry's shoulders slump a little. He knew Joe would never really trust the Snarts, not after everything they'd done, but sometimes he wished the other man would just let things go. Bygones be bygones and all that.  
"I'm just saying," Joe raises his hands in innocence, "Once a bad egg, always a bad egg. A leopard doesn't change it's spots."  
"You're just throwing metaphors around to make you sound wiser," Barry smiles.  
Joe merely shrugs and takes another bite of sandwich.


	25. fiche cúig

It's during the trail of the Core leader, Robert "Robo" Death, his legally changed name, that Central City has a small apocalypse. Out of nowhere, men and women in Mohawks run rampant through the streets causing whatever mayhem they can as they move towards the courthouse.  
Police try to contain the situation, telling people to stay indoors, and putting as much manpower on the streets as they can, but the sheer amount of people is too much for them.   
The Flash doesn't find it any easier. There's no point in the chaos. There's no pattern or reason, they're just causing problems and hurting people for the sake of doing it.  
A few of them don't even have the trademark Mohawk. There are several average looking people pillaging the stores and breaking into cars.   
Cisco counts five overturned minivans within an hour of the Flash's arrival.

Of course, that doesn't stop our hero. He runs from person to person, slapping on zip tie cuffs until he runs out. He flashes to the police station for more and begins again.  
It's as if, for every one he ties down, five more pop out of nowhere. The Flash throws himself into the mobs and leaves the stragglers to the police. Many of them get in a blow before they're immobilized. Barry is grateful once again for the super healing. A few officers have already been carted off to the hospital.  
Then the guns come out and Barry wants to scream at the violence. Scream like a child does when there's too much noise in a room. Scream as if that'll stop everything and the world will turn back to normal.   
He doesn't though. He grits his teeth and runs faster and faster, taking the guns and putting them wherever he can that's safe. Sometimes he puts them in police cars or, one time in particular, he literally puts it in an unarmed officer's hands.

Cisco and Caitlin are there with him, speaking to him via the comm. They've got street surveillance. At least, the ones that aren't smashed to smithereens.  
"There's just too many of them," Barry wheezes, he's been running at top speeds for hours. He needs to take a break, get something to eat, get his energy back. There are Barry Bars back at the lab, but by the time he goes to get one that could mean another innocent person being mugged. Another vehicle set ablaze. Someone's life lost.  
"Hold in there, Barry," Caitlin doesn't like the readings she's getting. She's already voiced her desire for her friend to return, to take a break for just a second, but she's already been shot down twice.  
"They have to run out of people eventually!" Cisco's frown deepens, "Where did they even get all these people? I can't imagine all of Central City decided to have a mental break down all at once!"  
"No, they must've come in from somewhere," Barry flashes over to stop another mugging and ties three Mohawked men together, "That's why it took them so long to do anything. They were waiting for reinforcements."  
"You've already got at least half of them down for the count," Cisco tries to remain positive, "What are a few hundred more rioters to the Flash?"  
"Ha," Barry laughs, all noise and no mirth, "Apparently the different between a heart attack and victory."  
"Barry," Caitlin says only the name, but all three of them know what she's really saying. 'Get back here.' 'Take a rest.' 'Let things slow down for just a minute.'  
"I can't," Barry answers the unsaid requests. No one's surprised, "Just a little longer."  
Then Heatwave shows up and things really get heated.

"Let the town BURN!" the villain laughs, hitting three cars in a row.  
"What are you doing?" Barry shouts at him. Heatwave turns and smiles.  
"This is the greatest day in Central City!" he laughs, setting another three cars ablaze, "Finally, some excitement!"  
"What gain could there possibly be in literally setting a city on fire?" Barry can tell that his words are falling on deaf ears. Had seen himself, days ago, how enraptured the man got when it came to fire and destruction.  
"What is it to a man to gain the world, but lose out on a good time!"  
The gun's aimed at the Flash now. The flames shooting toward him. Barry runs.  
"Guys, is there anywhere safe I can lead Heatwave to get him away from civilians?" Barry asks over the comm. He ducks behind the already flaming vehicles, the heat making it feel like his face would melt off.  
"There's a clearing two blocks away from you due north," Cisco points at the screen, even though there's no way for the hero to see him, "Construction had it blocked off."  
"Great," Barry slams past the pyromaniac and taunts him into the open space. There are less people on the street, which makes it easier to avoid casualties.  
"I'm going to make you a human candle, Flash," Heatwave sneers, aiming with his gun, "Then I'm going to burn this city to the ground!"  
"What does your partner think about that?" Barry frowns, actually curious if the villain's icy partner was on vacation or helping out in the chaos somewhere else.  
"The Captain and I had a disagreement," Heatwave shoots the gun, Barry easily dodges, "He's been sitting around and THINKING more than doing."  
"So, you decided to break out on your own?" Barry wants to laugh. A part of him has a hope that maybe, maybe, Snart doesn't know anything about this and would stop it if he did.  
"I don't need anyone to bring you to a fiery end!" the maniac growls, shooting again. Barry flashes away and towards a fire hydrant. Relishing in his good fortune, he twists off the cap and sprays Heatwave until he's the equivalent of a soggy match.

Confident the man won't get up again, Barry retightens the cap. His arms are shaking. His blood sugar is dangerously low, Caitlin tells him. Cisco's now suggesting he take a five second break. Barry breaths through the shaking. He walks over to the unconscious villain and takes his gun.  
"Okay," Barry concedes, "I'm taking the Heat Gun to the lab and getting one of those bars, but I'm right back out here no more than a minute later."  
"Two minutes, you'll need a couple of bars to get your strength up," Caitlin's voice is quiet, as if she's talking from another room. She must be getting the bars ready for Barry's arrival.  
Barry is in and out in a minute and a half. The bars eaten at super speed as he runs back to the semi-demolished part of the City.


	26. fiche sé

There's a mob outside the courthouse, trying to get into the barricaded building.  
Someone with a double colored Mohawk stands atop of a smashed police car, a loud speaker in his hands.  
"We are going to get in there!" he announces, the crowd cheers, "We will take down the corrupt justice system!" the crowd cheers again, "And we will get our leader back!"  
They erupt in shouting and a few guns go off. The windows of the courthouse had long been broken, but there are bars and no targets visible.  
The Flash shoves the spokesman off the car and into his mob. They move and swarm like a pebble causing a ripple in a pond.  
"This is pointless!" the Flash shouts at them, "Leave now and you might avoid arrest!"  
No one's listening, though. They're all trying to get to the hero atop the police car. Clawing at him like monsters in a horror film.  
"What is with these people?" Cisco's voice is angry and astonished. None of them have ever seen such pandemonium before.  
Barry gets to work, pushing, cuffing, trying to stop the madness. Then a bullet rips though his shoulder and he's shouting and falling to the ground.  
"Barry!" Caitlin shouts, unable to help her friend.  
The mob have their hands on him now. They don't waste time punching and kicking him. A few of them are shouting at him, but it's all too loud and Barry's ears are ringing. His vision swims with each new blow and lights are popping in and out of what little vision he has.  
Darkness sits at the edges of his mind, beckoning him to come. Telling him it'll be alright if he gives in, just this once. 

A cold force pushes the man holding his right arm away. Someone screams and Barry tries to get his feet to hold his weight. There's another blast and he's now free of them and falling to his knees.  
"Barry? Barry!" he can hear Caitlin and Cisco in his ear. They're making the pounding in his head worse, but he's glad to have them anyway.  
People are still screaming. Guns are going off and there's so much running. So much chaos, so much everything.  
"You gonna sit there all day, or are you going to get up?" a familiar voice shouts at him. He knows that voice. Why does he?  
"Scarlet!" Oh, right, that's Snart's voice. Why was Snart there?  
Barry takes a second to breathe. He steels himself for the pain as he rises to his feet. His shoulder screams at him as loud as the people surrounding him. Turning, he sees Captain Cold carefully aiming and shooting at targets. Not freezing them to death, like one would think a villain would do, just tripping them up. Pushing them away and into each other.  
"Snart?" he asks, but his head's still a little hazy from all of the blows. Maybe he's just dreaming? Why would Snart be here helping him?  
"Yeah, yeah, don't get all sappy on me, kid," Snart shoots a man approaching with a knife, knocking him away, "Hurry up and get moving. I'm not gonna keep an eye on you all day."  
The haze finally ebbs enough for Barry to think straight, to see well enough that he knows he won't run into something, or someone, on accident.

Once again he goes into the fray. A few more people here, a couple more there, each tied up and no longer causing problems. A gun goes off and he turns, sees it coming towards him, then sees if freeze in mid-air.  
He turns a shocked expression towards Snart who turns to smash the weapon that just saved Barry a bullet into the face of another Mohawked man.  
Barry's chest feels tight. 

The police brigade arrive minutes later. The extra manpower puts an end to the remaining "protesters." Most of them are either handcuffed or unconscious. A few have run off, making their way through the alleys to get away from the cops.  
Barry is breathing heavy, the shot to the shoulder a constant, painful, reminder that he needs to go see Cailtin. Snart is breathing pretty heavy too, but he holds himself in a way that makes it look like he's less tired. His gun is in it's holster now. No one left to shoot. Barry smiles at him.  
"Thanks for the save," he says, stepping closer so he doesn't have to shout.  
Snart tilts his head towards the hero, "What are family for?"  
"Wha-Really?" Barry blinks at him.  
"No," Snart deadpans, "Lisa is in the courthouse. I couldn't let these maniacs in there. So, I figured I'd save your sorry hide to help me out."  
"Wait, Lisa's in there?" Barry points unnecessarily to the courthouse building. Except for the lack of windows, it looks remarkably pristine for something that just survived a small war.  
"Remarkably bad timing, I know," Snart frowns like he has a bad taste in his mouth.  
"I better go check on her," Barry flashes over to the door and is surprised to find it's impossible to open. He looks closer at it and realized there are small amounts of gold color coming through the cracks, "She sealed the door."  
"What? Who?" Cisco sounds worried and impatient in Barry's ear.  
"Barry, what's going on?" Caitlin adds.  
"Sorry guys," Barry briefly wonders how long they'd been trying to talk to him, "Lisa is in the courthouse. She sealed the doors with the Gold Gun."  
"That's my girl!" Cisco cheers, Caitlin looks at him surprised.  
"What?"  
"Nothing!"  
"No, there's something."  
"I didn't say anything!"  
"We almost witnessed the end of Central City. Don't start this new chapter of life with lies, Caitlin!" Cisco looks his friend with a pointed look.  
"I'm merely surprised at you referring to Lisa as 'your girl,'" she shrugs.  
"Guys," Barry interrupts, "I think we can wait on this conversation for now, don't you think? How am I supposed to get into the building when all the doors are sealed?"  
Barry had checked them while his friends were talking. Every viable entrance was sealed with Gold.  
"Step aside, red" Snart answers before the scientists. He moves Barry over with one arm, his gun in the other, aimed at the door, "Let the adults handle this."  
Snart shoots the Cold Gun at the door, freezing it and the gold beyond. When he finishes he lifts his foot and gives the door a solid kick, effectively shattering a hole in the once impenetrable entrance.  
"Nice," Barry relays what Snart did to the two on the other side of the comm.

Snart enters first, his eyes scanning for his sister. He doesn't have to look for long.  
"Lenny!" she dashes down the steps at a breakneck speed. Her shoes are missing and there are a tears in her clothes, "What took you so long?"  
The older Snart holds his sister at arms length to check for injuries. Finding nothing serious, he pulls her into a brief hug.  
"I told you not to come," Snart monotones, his eyes scanning the damage to the inside of the building.  
"I had to file the paperwork today or the whole thing would have been for nothing," Lisa defends, but there's no heat in their argument.  
"What thing?" Barry asks.  
"Nothing that concerns the City's resident hero," Snart turns his attention to Barry, "I think we'll be going now."  
"Len, how am I supposed to make it across town without shoes?" Lisa has a very good point. There are innumerable amounts of glass and debris littering the streets.  
"I can take you," Barry offers immediately, "You wouldn't even have to put a foot on the ground."  
"Oh, good," Lisa's shoulders drop in relief, "Can you take me to Cisco?"  
"Cisco?" Snart scowls, "Why do you want to go to him?"  
"What's wrong with me?" Cisco pipes up on the comm. Barry ignores him.  
"It's a long story, and I'm not talking about it right now," Lisa ignores the glare she gets from her brother. She merely walks over to Barry and puts her hand on his shoulder, "Shall we?"

Snart manages to escape the police on his own. They're too busy collecting the various perpetrators throughout the City. Barry wonders if there'll ever be a time where his half brother won't have to resort to sneaking around to make it home. Wonders if he'd be welcomed into the police station as a friend or colleague rather than a criminal.

Lisa stays the night at the lab. Cisco stays with her and no one mentions it. There's a softness to the woman's eyes that has everyone feeling relieved she got out of there in one piece. She holds hands with the genius from the moment she gets there, till the next day. They wake side by side in the cramped bed, still dressed in the clothes from the day before. Comforted in the rhythmic beat of the other's heart.


	27. fiche seacht

"I better get to Len before he gets too worried," she says after breakfast. All four of them are at Jitters. Caitlin had brought the other woman a change of clothes.  
"Lisa," Barry steps close to her so only she can hear him, "Mick was arrested last night. Do you think Leonard might try and break him out?"  
Lisa laughs, "Don't call him 'Leonard,' Barry. Len is better."  
"Well, do you think Len will try breaking Mick out? I know they're partners."  
"Partners is a different term when applied to those two," Lisa smiles oddly, "I don't think Lenny's going to risk anything for that hot head. At least, not right away. Big brother doesn't like it when people lose their cool."  
Cisco groans, "Don't, just, don't say his puns."  
"For you, babe?" she reaches for his neck and pulls him closer, "Absolutely."  
With a farewell kiss to Cisco's cheek, Lisa Snart walks out of Jitters and into the busy world of Central City.  
"I can't believe I'm saying this," Caitlin announces, "but I think I like her."  
"What's not to like about a woman willing to ignore Captain Cold's puns?" Barry jokes, hiding a smile behind his coffee.

 

Time heals all wounds and Central City comes together to put their home back together after all the chaos.   
Barry keeps an ear out for any prison breaks, but there's nothing.   
"Hey, Barry," Iris surprises her friend with lunch at his workplace.  
"Hey, Iris," he smiles, "Is that Italian?"  
She nods, "I was having a craving and thought I'd bring some over to you."  
"Thanks," he takes the still hot container from her carefully, "You should have cravings more often."

"So, how's life?" she asks once they've finished eating. Barry knows what she really means, 'What's going on with your new family?'  
"Nothing," he feigns ignorance, just staying busy at work.  
Iris nods, tossing the trash in the nearest can, "How's Cisco?"  
"You heard about him and Lisa Snart," Barry doesn't ask, he can tell by the way her eyes are sparkling that she already knew. Did Joe tell her?  
"It's not every day that a friend of your friend starts dating an ex-criminal."  
Barry pushes out a breath.  
"Not so ex-criminal?" Iris guesses.  
"It's complicated?" Barry half shrugs, "She hasn't stolen anything recently, that we know of. I don't know."  
"Do you think she might? Especially if Cisco asked her to?" Iris is leaning against Barry's desk, inches away from him so they can keep their voices low.  
"I don't think he would. Things are going pretty well for them right now."  
"He can't want to start a family with the risk of her going to jail though, right?"  
Iris is looking at him like he has all the answers, but he's just as confused as she is.  
"I doubt she thinks she'll ever go to prison," he surmises, "Or that, if she did, she wouldn't be there very long. I doubt she takes her criminal activity seriously."  
Iris nods in understanding, "You should try to get Cisco to talk to her about it. Otherwise, further down the line, it'll rip their relationship apart."'  
"I know," Barry sighs.  
Iris pats him reassuringly on the shoulder before leaving. Deadlines waiting for her.

 

It's after a training exercise that Barry finds the time to broach the subject with his friend. Caitlin had left to run some personal errands and it was just the two of them packing away the equipment.  
"Cisco?" Barry gets the young genius's attention, "How are things with you and Lisa?"  
"We're good," Cisco smiles, some memory flashing over his face, "I think she's trying to impress me though. We've been to three more fancy pants places."  
"If your not comfortable going, you should let her know," Barry suggests. Cisco merely nods.  
"Listen," Barry abandons what he's doing, "I don't mean to get into your business, but have you and Lisa talked about what she does for a living?"  
"You mean robbing and scamming the people of Central City?" Cisco states simply, as if they were talking about easy math equations.  
"Well, yeah," Barry is surprised at how easily his friend is broaching the subject.  
"We did once or twice, well," Cisco corrects himself, "I talked, she deflected."  
"Is she planning on staying with the Rogues?"  
"Barry, her brother is the leader of the Rogues."  
"Right, but that doesn't mean she has to be involved with them."  
Cisco sighs, dropping the wire he had tried, unsuccessfully, to wind up three times, "Maybe I should get used to dating a villain."  
"She's not really a villain," Barry tries to comfort his friend, stepping closer to stand next to him.  
"Oh, right, because criminal sounds better," the genius scoffs.  
"I think so," Barry shrugs, "I just don't want you to get hurt."  
"Yeah, man, I know."


	28. fiche a hocht

Fate, Destiny, Irony, take your pick- Barry arrives in the more run down part of the City to find Golden Glider and Captain Cold defending themselves from a literal mob of mobsters. He can only imagine the puns Snart has come up with.  
He flashes to where the two are taking shelter behind a car, "What's going on?"  
"Just your every day local mobsters having spat," Lisa supplies, taking a shot as one of them makes their way closer. She just misses him.   
"Are you trying to kill them?" Barry stares at her, astonished. Worried if he should be checking the waters for golden, human statues.  
"Don't be silly, Flash," Lisa rolls her eyes, "Cisco gave my gun a less lethal feature. It just trap them in a thinner coating."  
"Couldn't really have her breaking the rules," Snart drawls, shooting and hitting another mobster in the chest.  
"Why are they trying to kill you?" Barry is running plans on how to diffuse the situation. It would be helpful if he knew what started it.  
"They don't take too kindly to the Rogues taking over the City," Snart explains, hitting another two with his gun, "They think things'll go back to the way they were if they get rid of us."  
"So, basically, they're trying to kill us because we're better than them," Lisa smiles. She moves to take another shot at an approaching mobster, but gets hit in the leg by one of their bullets instead. She screams.  
"Lisa," Snart is at her side, checking the bleeding wound.  
"That-" Lisa wants to go after whoever shot her, but her leg won't let her put any weight on it.  
"Do you mind, hero?" Snart looks pointedly at Barry, "You're not really helping staying back here with us."  
"Barry WHAT is happening?" Cisco's voice is strained over the comm., "Is Lisa okay? I heard a woman scream."  
"Lisa will be fine, Cisco," Barry glances over the car and notices they're about to be taken over by the mobsters.  
"Will be?" Cisco repeats.  
Barry doesn't answer, he flashes the two Snarts away from the mobsters. Worried about Lisa's leg, he stops a few blocks away. Gently, he places her on a nearby wall.  
"That wasn't what I had in mind, Scarlet," Snart scowls, "The Rogues don't run away."  
"Shut up, Lenny," Lisa is inspecting her injury, wincing as she presses around the wound, "I think the bullet's still in there."  
Snart's expression softens a little. He leans on one knee to take a closer look himself, "I'll have to get medical supplies before we go home."  
"Everything we need is at STAR Labs," Barry assures the other man, "Caitlin can patch Lisa up."  
Snart rises to his full height, eyes searching Barry for something. Reluctantly, he nods, "Fine, but leave me here."  
"Lenny," Lisa is as startled as Barry at the request.  
"It'll be less jarring to your leg if he's only carrying you," Snart explains, "Besides, I have some unfinished business a few blocks back."  
"You can't be serious," Barry wants to run his hands through his hair, but the cowl is in the way, "There are too many of them."  
"As touching as that sounds," Snart frowns at the hero, "I can take care of myself. Brains over brawn and all that."  
"Don't be stupid, Len," Lisa scolds her brother, her jaw tight with pain, "You're acting like Mick. What's wrong with you?"  
"I can come right back for you after I drop her off at the lab," Barry tries to reason, "You don't have to go back there and prove anything."  
"Don't I?" Snart raises an eyebrow, "Or did you not think what would happen to your precious reputation if word got out in the criminal world that the Flash is best buds with Captain Cold?"  
"What?" Barry's mind is reeling, Cisco and Caitlin are talking over the comm., but he isn't listening.  
"There's only one person the bad guys know who can make people disappear in a bolt of lightning," Snart points at Barry, "And that bolt just pulled our tails out of the fire. If I don't go back there before things cool down they'll think you've joined up with us."  
"Barry, how's Lisa?" Cisco's voice finally reaches the speedster, he looks to his half sister and finally notices how pale she is.   
"Get her out of here before she bleeds to death," Snart orders, before heading back to where they came from.  
"Caitlin, I'm bringing Lisa in, she's got a bullet in her leg," Barry picks up the woman and they're gone in a second.

"Shot?" Cisco is fuming as Barry gently lays Lisa on the medical bed. She had passed out on the way over. Cisco is at her side the moment Barry moves out of the way.  
"Cisco," Caitlin has to push the genius to give herself room to check the leg, "I need you to check her blood type. She's lost too much of her own already."  
He does as h's told, though he's reluctant to let go of her hand. Barry hovers near the door, wanting to flash back to Snart, but unwilling to leave until he's sure Lisa's alright. After all, they might not have her blood type on hand.

They don't, and Barry has to flash some out of the nearest hospital. Caitlin is ordering Cisco around like he's a nurse, explaining how something is done when he looks at her confused. Barry bring the blood and Cisco attaches it to the waiting IV.  
"I gotta go check on Snart," Barry tells his friends before leaving. Caitlin doesn't even turn around as he goes.

The street's completely frozen over. At least half of the mobsters are stuck where they stand. Barry searches for Snart and finds him holding a man by his tie, the Cold Gun pointed directly at his face.  
"Snart!" he shouts, flashing next to him, "What are you doing?"  
"Cool it, Flash," Captain Cold smirks, "This guy has it coming to him."  
"You don't need to kill him," Barry keeps his hands up, keeps an eye on Snart's trigger finger in case the other man starts squeezing.  
"Please!" the man begs, his legs are shaking underneath him, "I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"  
"Sorry for what?" Snart shakes him a little, making the man whimper.  
"I'm sorry I shot at you!" he cries out, there are tears coming out of his eyes now.  
"If you kill this man," Barry says slowly, inching a tiny bit close, "You'll go to jail."  
Snart laughs, "We both know the big house isn't exactly Fort Knox, though, I doubt even that place would be too difficult a challenge."  
"No!" the man begs again, "Please! I'll do anything!"  
"How about you tell me who sent you?" Snart pulls the gun away an inch, a silent promise that he might show mercy.  
"Dracone and the Lois brothers!" the man's shaking harder now, but there's a desperate hope in his eyes. He looks at Barry, "You're the good guy, you can't let him do this to me!"  
"Snart," Barry tries again, "if you kill him I won't put you in a regular jail."  
He knows Snart will understand. The criminal had seen the type of cells STAR Labs was able to create.  
"You wouldn't" Snart's tone is daring, testing to see in Barry's face if he'd actually go through with the threat.  
"Yes, I would," Barry puts steel in his tone, "And then what would your sister do?"  
Snart stares at his whimpering captive contemplatively. He releases the tie and kicks him away, "Go tell your bosses that I'm coming for them."  
The man scurries away without another word.

"You sure know what buttons to push to get your way, Red," Snart drawls, putting his gun away, "If you were part of the Rogues, I'd be proud."  
"I wish I could say the same about you," Barry's blood is beginning to boil. How can Snart treat other people's lives so carelessly?  
"I'm a criminal, you're not supposed to be proud of me," Snart starts walking away from the new outdoor ice skating rink, "Let's go see my sister."

Barry leaves Snart to get there on his own. He's still angry that he was almost witness to a cold blooded murder. He checks on Lisa and is relieved to hear that she's fine and will make a complete recovery.  
When Snart gets there he isn't out of breath at all, probably took some sort of stashed vehicle. He strides over to his sleeping sister and ignores the three other people in the room. After satisfying himself that she's alright, he looks over to Caitlin.  
"She'll be fine after a couple of days of rest," Caitlin answers the unspoken question.  
Snart turns a glare toward Cisco, causing the genius to take a step back.  
"I understand that you and my sister are together for real," he drawls, keeping his voice low and menacing as he takes steps towards the other man.  
"Yeah, yes, we're-we're dating," Cisco stutters under the piercing gaze.  
Snart is standing directly in front of him now. Barry right next to his friend in case the criminal tries anything. They stare at each other for the longest three seconds in history, Cisco's eyes moving back and forth to each eye as Snart just stares directly at him.  
Then he smirks and turns away, Cisco almost collapsing behind him.  
"If you break her heart, she'll break yours," Snart warns him, casting one more glance at his sister before heading to the door, "Better be careful, Cisco."  
"Is that your version of the shovel talk?" Cisco looks at him, confused.  
"I don't need to threaten you, Cisco," Snart turns and smiles, showing a little teeth, "I just need to help bury your body."


	29. fiche naoi

Lisa sleeps through the night. Cisco brings a little cot into the room so he can keep an eye on her. When Caitlin returns the next morning with breakfast, the two of them are laughing together.  
"You seem to be in a good mood today," Caitlin smiles, stepping over to her patient to check her vitals.  
"How can I be in a bad mood when my handsome boyfriend is with me?" Lisa winks at Cisco, effectively causing the man to blush.  
"What did you give her?" Cisco asks in a not-quite-a-whisper.  
"I'm not under the influence, Cisco," Lisa rolls her eyes.  
"Well, everything looks good here," Caitlin smiles at the two warmly, "Later today I'll take the IV out, but you'll be on best rest for the next two weeks."  
Lisa turns a wicked smile to Cisco, "That means you'll have to take care of me."  
"What was that? Barry?" Cisco rushes to his feet and gets out of there before his face can turn into a tomato.  
Lisa gently takes Caitlin's hand.  
"Did Len come here?" she asks quietly.  
"He was here last night," Caitlin puts her hand on Lisa's, "After he saw that you were okay, he left."  
"Then he's all right," Lisa releases the other woman and relaxes into the bed.  
Caitlin's brow furrows in confusion, "Did you know what he was going to do?"  
"You mean go back and find the idiot who shot me?" Lisa raises an eyebrow, "Yeah, that's Lenny. He doesn't like to leave business unfinished."  
"And by unfinished you mean-?" the doctor leaves the sentence open.  
Lisa sighs, "I mean shoot him if he meant it and scar him if he didn't."  
"And you're okay with that?"  
"I used to be," Lisa says quietly, smiling fondly at Cisco as he puts cream cheese on the bagels Caitlin had brought with her. He watches him make one with butter on one side and cream cheese on the other, just the way she likes it.  
"You know," Caitlin crosses her arms, leaning in a little toward Lisa, "Life is full of change. Some of it for the better."  
Lisa keeps her eyes focused on the man in the other room. Smiling as he almost drops the bagel for the second time in his haste to coat it.  
"You might have something there, doc."


	30. tríocha

"Today, police discovered the homes of the Dracone and Lois family encased with ice. Firemen were called to the scene to assist in the removal of the frozen casings. Once inside, the police discovered all the members of the families, including several known affiliates, trapped inside and secured with rope. Also in the room, evidence against the families going back ten years was discovered implicating them in multiple crimes. Police have arrested both families and their affiliates and are holding them for questioning. There are rumors of how they were encased in the ice to begin with..."  
The news anchor goes on to give further details and to talk to various experts for their opinions on the matter. Barry stands in front of the TV with his mouth hanging open.  
"Barry!" Joe nudges the young man, motioning upstairs with his head for the other to follow. Barry nods, following at the other's heels.  
"Tell me the truth, did Snart do that?" Joe asks the moment they are alone.  
"I didn't know, he might've? I figured he was going to something, but not that," Barry runs a hand through his hair, closing the door to his lab.  
"You knew Snart was going after Dracone and the Lois brothers?" Joe looks at him bewildered, "Why didn't you tell me?"  
"Because I haven't had the chance yet, Joe!" Barry glances over his shoulder to make sure no one is behind him, even though the door is already closed.  
"That's what cell phones are for, Barry!" Joe's fist is shaking, he takes a breath to calm his nerves, "What if he had killed them?"  
"He wouldn't," Barry dismisses instantly, "We have a deal."  
Joe laughs, "Yeah, and Snart's really good at keeping his end of a deal."  
"That was before. Besides, I already told him I'd throw him into the pipeline if he did kill anyone."  
"You what?"   
"He almost killed someone a few nights ago. I talked him out of it!" he says quickly at Joe's alarmed expression, "I told him I'd throw him in the cells at STAR Labs if he did it and he didn't. He knew I was being serious."  
Joe sighs, rubbing a hand over his temple, "Barry..."  
"This is a good thing," Barry points out, "Now the CCPD can put Dracone and the Lois brothers behind bars by the book."  
"If the evidence holds up in court," Joe counters, "You know them, they'll get the most expensive lawyer they can and have it overturned."  
"Then we make sure the DA sends their best attorney so that can't happen. It's not like they were coerced or anything."  
"How do you know that?" Joe puts his hands on his hips, "Where you there?"  
"No, but come on, Joe, no one keeps evidence against themselves in their own house," Barry is trying to get the other man to see the bigger picture. Yes, it doesn't look good the way the police came across the evidence, but it's not like the Flash has done a pristine job in that department either. A fact he relays to the older man.  
Joe stares at him for a minute. Barry can tell he's running different sentences and scenarios through his head. Finally, Joe sighs, shaking his head.  
"Ok, you're right," he surrenders, "This might actually more good new than bad."  
Barry smiles.


	31. tríocha haon

Barry finds Snart in STAR Labs the day after the mobsters are convicted. He greets the man with a smile. Snart frowns back.  
"Lenny," Lisa chides her brother. Her leg is healed enough to walk on now, but she had decided to remain in the lab as a sort of mini vacation.  
"I take it you heard the news," Barry walks closer to the brother and sister, "The CCPD owe Captain Cold a thank you for his help."  
"I don't know what you're talking about," Snart drawls. He remains where he's sitting, his face toward his sister.  
"Barry, my man," Cisco greets his friend with a high five as he enters the room. He's feet squeak to a stop at the sight of Snart, which amuses the other man.  
"Hello, Cisco," Snart stands, turning to face the genius, "I hope you've been treating my sister well. After all, you've had her cooped up in this lab for weeks."  
"Oh, for crying out loud," Lisa dramatically sighs, "Babe, you don't have to be scared of him."  
"No, I think that fear is completely appropriate," Cisco counters, when the elder Snart shoots a dark look at his sister.  
"Men," Lisa grumbles, getting out of the bed to hug her boyfriend.  
"I better go before I cause Cisco to get cold feet," Snart remarks with a smirk. He pauses to whisper something in his sister's ear before leaving.  
"What are you two plotting?" Cisco asks as soon as the crook's long gone.  
"Secret sibling things," Lisa smiles playfully, she looks to Barry, "I guess that means I can tell you though."  
"Uh, sure," Barry shrugs, feeling oddly excited.  
Lisa cups her hand over his ear and whispers, "He says not to be late for dinner."  
"Dinner?" Barry repeats, confused. Lisa smacks him.  
"For someone with a secret identity, you're really bad at secrets!"  
"Sorry, I just wasn't expecting you to say that."  
"You thought we were going to knock over a bank or something?" Lisa raises both eyebrows at the speedster, he blushes a little at the accusation.  
"No, well, you, I don't know," Barry gives up.  
Lisa puts a hand on his shoulder, "Even criminals have to eat."

 

Lisa Snart insists on going to see her brother alone. She's barely even limping and she knows a short cut. Cisco tries to convince her the whole walk to the cab. She effectively shuts him up with a kiss. By the time the genius comes back to reality, she's long gone.

 

Joe and Barry are eating dinner at the house when the doorbell rings. Curious, Barry goes to the door and finds a delivery man on the other side.  
"Special Delivery for Barry Allen," the man says, holding up a fancy envelope.  
"Yeah, that's me," Barry signs for the letter and takes it from the man. Curiosity levels jumping up more levels, he opens the letter on his way back to the table.  
"Who was it?" Joe asks, eyeing the letter in the young man's hands.  
"Delivery," Barry opening the embossed, cream colored card inside the envelope.  
The card reads, "You are cordially invited to the opening of the Óir Fuar Import Export Company in Central City. The attire is black tie. Plus one is acceptable. Please RSVP is you wish to bring more guests."  
The date is three weeks from that night. The time is for 7 pm.  
"Wow," Joe looks at the card impressed with it's quality, "How do you pronounce that name?"  
"I have no idea," Barry laughs, "I've never even heard of them before, why are they sending me an invitation?"  
"Maybe they got the wrong address?" Joe hands the letter back, "The better questions is, are you going to go?"  
"What?" Barry laughs again, looking the card over again, "What would I do at some stuffy party with a bunch of people I don't know."  
"It says you can bring a guest," Joe reminds him, "Who knows, you might have fun."  
"I don't know," part of Barry is excited at the thought of some mystery party, another is terrified of all the bad things that could go wrong, "Who would I even take?"  
"I'm sure Iris wouldn't mind going. She could use the opportunity to write an article about it." Joe serves himself another helping of pasta.  
"You think Iris would want to go?" the more he thinks about it, the more Barry wants to go. Worst case scenario, he can always save the day as the Flash.  
"Definitely, she was going on and on the other day about how bored she was because there wasn't anything new to do around town."

 

Iris is excited about going. The allure of some new company moving to Central City and throwing an extravagant party has her smiling the whole way there.  
"Wouldn't it be the best if it there was royalty there?" Iris had been coming up with different, sometimes ridiculous, suggestions of who would be there, "I wish I had thought of looking that name up."  
Barry merely smiled, enjoying watching his closest friend acting like a child on Christmas Eve. Secretly, he was just as excited.  
The taxi drops them off at Central City Museum. There are fancy dressed people already there, moving into the museum. A few limos are waiting nearby for the owners to take them home after the party.  
Barry offers Iris his arm. She's wearing a dazzling sleeveless silver dress that shimmers with every step. Barry's glad he let Joe talk him into renting the tux he's wearing. Together they walk up the stairs. A man at the door checks the invitation before allowing them in with a nod.  
"Oh, wow," Iris gapes at the turnout. A few famous people of Central City mingling with prominent businessmen and women. There are deep red cloth banners decorating the ceiling in waves. Champagne and horderves are being toted around tuxedo clad men and women. They are wearing vests that match the red banners.  
"I don't know how you got invited to this, Barr," Iris's smiles widens when a handsome actor winks at her, "But I sure am glad you did."  
They walk the museum, taking in some exhibits they'd never seen before and reading about the company from fancy posters in strategically placed areas. A band had begun to play soft classic music in the background, completing the fantasy feeling.

"Excuse me," one of the waiters approaches Barry and Iris, "Someone requests your presence, if you'll follow me?"  
The man motions with his hands and Barry nods, following after him, Iris in tow. He takes them up the stairs and they can make out the shape of a man in a dark blue suit waiting behind the pillar. Steps away from the man, the waiter bows and leaves.  
Tentatively, feeling odd about being called away by a stranger, Barry lets go of Iris's hand to get a closer look, a greeting on the top of his tongue.  
The man turns and Leonard Snart smiles at the couple's dual shocked expressions.


	32. tríocha dó

"Snart?" Barry gawks, Iris is searching her purse for her phone, in case she has to call the police.  
"Cool your jets, Miss West," Snart raises his hand to stop the woman, "I'm supposed to be here."  
"What?" Barry's heart is beating rapidly. Is Snart going to rob the museum? Something cold stirs in his gut when he realizes this is the exact same museum he robbed when he first became Captain Cold.   
"Is this some sort of criminal anniversary thing?" he asks, not sure if it the same date or not.  
"Sorry to disappoint," Snart smirks, "No, it's not even the same day if that's what's got your little super brain working in overdrive."  
"Then why are you here?" Iris demands, she moved closer to Barry, phone ready to call for help if need be.  
"This whole gala?" Snart waves his hand in a gesture to encompass the museum, "I set it up."  
"You what?" Barry sputters the same time Iris scoffs in disbelief.  
"There's no way Captain Cold is going legit," Iris's frowns, she's searching the criminal's face for something to explain his true intentions.  
"You see," Snart points his finger at the woman in front of him, "That's exactly what I told Lisa would happen."  
"And I told you, we couldn't have a party without inviting our baby brother," Lisa Snart walks into their little bubble. Her low cut dress is the same color as the banners, the hem reaching down to her ankles to hide the bandage Barry knows should still be on her leg. Cisco is dressed in a fancy suit at her side.  
"Cisco?" Barry looks at his friend, more surprised seeing his friend who preferred t-shirts in a suit of all things.  
"Hi, Barry," Cisco gives him a tight smiles, "Fancy seeing you here."  
Lisa sighs, "He's just upset because I wouldn't let him pick his outfit."  
"This suit costs four hundred dollars, Lisa!" Cisco hisses.  
"And I didn't even make you pay for it or steal it." By the tone in Lisa's voice, the couple had clearly had this argument several times earlier that day.  
"Please," Snart's cool tone has the couple clamping their mouths shut, "take your lover's quarrel somewhere else."  
"Sorry, Lenny," Lisa smiles, clearly not sorry at all, "Where were we?"  
"You were explaining how the two leading members of the Rogues were capable of creating a company and throwing a party about it," Iris directs the conversation.  
"Not here," Snart silences his sister with a raised hand, "We can use the curator's office, follow me."  
The criminal merely begins walking away, not even looking back to see if he's being followed. He doesn't need to, though, because both couples are mere steps behind him.

"Okay, explain," Iris demands the second the office door closes, arms crossed over chest. She's looking pointedly at the elder Snart, but she honestly doesn't care who starts talking as long as one of them explains things.  
"Criminal life is only lucrative if you're able to keep up with the law," Snart begins his explanation, relaxing against the curator's desk like he owns the place, "There's no pension plans for criminals, so I made a safety net."  
"Let me get this straight," Cisco pipes up, clearly he was out of the loop too, "You made yourself a company so you can retire when you're too old to rob people?"  
Snart's eye trail up to the ceiling, considering the explanation, "Pretty much."  
"That's genius!" Cisco can't stop himself from complimenting the crook.  
"Wait," Iris waves a hand to draw attention, "Is this company legitimate or not?"  
"Oh, it's legitimate," Snart smirks.  
"I filed the paperwork myself," Lisa adds, winking at Barry, "Thanks for the save, by the way."  
"You mean, back at the courthouse?" Barry starts putting pieces together in his head.  
"Isn't the money used to fund this company still stolen?" Iris says what Cisco and Barry are thinking in the backs of their minds.  
"Temporarily," Lisa shrugs, "Even other company's take out loans when they first start out."  
"Yeah, but they usually get them from banks," Iris frowns.  
"Some if it DID come from banks," the other counters, smiling.  
"Ladies," Snart breaks up what would now doubt end in a fight, "There's a perfectly good party going on downstairs. Do you want to spend the whole night fighting in this stuffy office, or do you want to go and enjoy yourselves?"  
"Barry, can we talk?" Iris pulls her friend out of the office. When no one follows after them, she turns worried eyes to him, "What do you think?"  
"Of going back to the party? Or Snart starting a legitimate business?"  
"Both, but mostly the second one," Iris makes sure to glance towards the office door. Maybe the Snarts are giving them privacy to talk things out?  
"I think that this is a good sign," Barry smiles a little, "If he makes it legitimate, maybe he'll stop committing crimes."  
"Right," Iris resists the urge to roll her eyes.  
"You said thing would work out," Barry reminds her of their first conversation. Back when Barry first discovered the Snarts were relatives, "Maybe this is it."  
Iris stares at her closest friend in the world. She sees the hope in his eyes. The need for things to change for the better and it makes her heart hurt. 

If Snart messes this up again, she'll beat him with his own gun.

"Okay, Barry," she smiles, "Why don't we just enjoy ourselves and ignore the details."  
It's not really a question, but Barry nods his head anyway. The young hero goes back to the office and finds it empty.  
"They must've gone out another way," he shrugs, "Let's go."  
The two of them make their way back to the party, the music getting louder the closer they get. When they reach the top of the stairs leading back to the other guests, Barry sees Snart leaning against another pillar. He waves at the man. Snart, surprisingly, waves back.  
Lisa is on the dance floor with Cisco. She's taken the lead, guiding the flustered genius across the floor with precise movements while her partner tries not to step on her toes or run into another guest.

The night goes off without a hitch. There's only one minor catastrophe and that was just Cisco bumping into a waiter carrying a tray of horderves. Thankfully, the wait staff was professional about it and got it cleaned up in record time. Cisco sported red cheeks for the rest of the night because of it, though.


	33. tríocha trí

Two weeks later, Barry, as the Flash, is standing in the middle of Central City's Museum utterly flabbergasted.  
Captain Cold is standing in front of him, a golden statue in one hand, the Cold Gun in the other.  
"What are you doing?" he forces his voice to be calm. Shouting won't do him any good. Snart laughs at him.  
"What does it look like, Flash? Or is your slow brain a side affect of that famous super speed?"  
"No, I mean, WHY are you steeling?" Barry is seething. Things were going great. At least he thought they were, "Was the party a cover for the robbery?"  
"Not so fast, Flash," Cold smirks, "This is a separate event but, I will admit, this did catch my eye that night."  
"You used the gala to check the museum's security," Barry sighs, scolding himself for ever thinking the man could change, "What about your business?"  
"I said it was a safety net for when I can't keep up with the law," Snart reminds the hero, "But I think that's enough talking for one day."  
With those words, Snart shoots the gun towards the chandelier above the speedster. It cracks and creaks with the sub-zero temperature till it breaks and comes falling towards the hero. Barry flashes out of it's path and moves as many priceless things in the vicinity that he can. Thankfully, there weren't any civilians in the area.  
By the time the air clears, Snart's long gone and Barry's anger is boiling.

 

"I can't believe him!" Barry rants for the fourth time that day.   
Caitlin jumps again at the random out spurt. The speedster was pacing back and forth in the middle of the lab. Caitlin was going over some medical readings from other missions. She sighs in aggravation for accidentally pushing another incorrect button.  
"Barry!" she doesn't shout per se, just raises her voice above regular talking, "Isn't there somewhere else you could be venting?"  
The hero's shoulders instantly slump, "I'm sorry, Cait."  
"I know it's got to be hard for you, Barry," she softens her voice for something more comforting, "But wearing a hole in the floor here and ranting isn't going to fix your problem."  
"You're right," Barry takes a breath to calm his nerves.  
"Maybe you should talk to Lisa?" Caitlin suggests slowly, "I'm sure Cisco can give you her number. From what you and Cisco have told me, she seems to be more open about what she and her brother are doing."  
"Right," Barry smiles at his friend, "Thanks."  
"Anything to help out," Caitlin smiles back.

 

Cisco does give him Lisa's number and even allows the speedster to meet up with her alone, after a feeble protest.  
"Barry!" Lisa waves at the young man as he enters the bar. It's Leonard Snart's usual hang out, so Barry had figured the other Snart would be comfortable there too.  
"What's up, bro," Lisa pronouns the last word slowly, like she's just learned it.  
"I was hoping you'd answer a few questions for me," Barry motions for her to follow him to a bench at a far corner of the bar. There are roughly a dozen customers there and he doesn't want to be overheard.  
"Shoot," Lisa says once they're seated, she takes a sip of her drink in anticipation.  
"Why was Len robbing the museum yesterday?" Barry starts off, bluntly.  
"Because he's a criminal," Lisa says it like it's most obvious thing in the world, and it really should be. Barry shouldn't be surprised, but there's that tight feeling in his chest again.  
"No, I mean, why is he still stealing when you guys could be working on this company you were so proud of at the gala?"  
Lisa stares at him like she's examining a priceless piece of art. Barry swallows tightly under the scrutiny. He doesn't know why.  
"Barry," she reaches a hand toward him, offering it to him if he wants to take it, "you can't expect Lenny to suddenly turn around and stop doing what he's done since childhood. That sort of thing takes time to wear off."  
"Are you telling me Captain Cold is going to stop?" Barry's tone is sarcastic, but there's a sliver of hope in it. Lisa catches it and smiles.  
"Crazier things have happened."

They talk about random things after that. Anything from the weather to Cisco's obsession with shirts that have pictures on them. Lisa shares a few funny stories from their dates, making him blush a little. She lets him know that Cisco had told her he wasn't comfortable with the super fancy places and how that made her love him a little bit more.   
The sun's starting to set as they leave the bar. They walk side by side down the street, completely lost in their conversation.  
That's why Barry doesn't see the blow coming.  
As they pass by an especially large alleyway, he hears Lisa shout his name and he turns, but only makes out a bat before he's out cold. Muffled screaming ringing in his ears as he falls.


	34. tríocha ceathair

"Barry? Barry!" Someone is hissing at him. He knows that voice. Why do they sound so concerned?  
"Is he up yet?" a voice Barry definitely DOESN'T know asks, the voice has an accent to it, but he can't place it. His head still hurts.  
"Maybe if you hadn't tried to bash his head in he would've woken up sooner!" the familiar voice bites back at the other one. There's a sound of a slap after that.  
"Maybe you shouldn't hang around your friends when you have a target on your back?" the accented voice is unpleasant. There are footsteps going away from them now and Barry decides to try opening his eyes.  
He's lying on the floor, arms tied tightly behind his back. Lisa Snart is sitting next to him, her arms in a similar state. There's a cut just above her eyebrow and a bruise on her cheek. She's glaring away from him, but after a door closes she turns her eyes back to Barry. They soften when they see he's awake.  
"Are you all right?" she whispers, clearly not wanting the accented guy to know he's up yet.  
"Yeah," Barry bites back a groan. He can tell his face is swollen and recognizes the feeling of blood on his face, "What's going on?"  
"Remember those two crime families Lenny helped bring down?" Lisa shifts, closer to him, "These guys want the company Lenny made using their contacts."  
"You mean Len is using criminal channels for his legitimate business?" if Barry's head didn't already hurt, he's fairly certain it'd be spinning.  
"Relax, Barry," Lisa smiles, "Not everything a mobster does is illegal. Len only used their legal connections."  
"But these guys want that now," Barry's brain finally catches up with the situation, "What does that have to do with us?"  
"It's amazing how you can't fathom bad guy mentality," Lisa chuckles slightly, "We're leverage against Lenny. He signs over the company, or we die."  
"What?" Barry tries to sit up but his head isn't quite ready for that. He's forced to remain lying down.  
"Slow down," Lisa scoots closer so Barry can use her to sit up slower. It's difficult to do since both of their hands are tied. Once Barry's in a sitting up position, Lisa adds, "They don't know about your connection. They only took you because you were with me."  
"We got to get our of here," Barry thinks about phasing though the ropes, but that's when a door opens and a man in a black suit walks in. He's a little too happy to see Barry sitting up, awake.  
"Finally, my friend, you are awake!" he smiles, Barry instantly recognizes his voice is the one from earlier, "Alto has a strong arm and occasionally swings too hard."  
"Maybe you should stop swinging things at people all together," Barry suggests.   
Their captor is not amused, "I see you have the same smart mouth as your friend. You should show more respect."  
"Why? You haven't earned it." The comments earns Barry a backhanded slap, sending him to the floor again. His head doesn't spin like it did before though, the perks of super healing.  
"I hope for your sakes, Mr. Snart takes my proposal seriously," the man frowns down at them, adjusting his cufflinks.  
"And I hope, for our sakes, that he iced you all and shoves you into the harbor!" Lisa spits at the man. It hits him in the face and he approaches her in two steps, hand raised.  
"Wait!" Barry shouts, pushing himself into a sitting position.  
Oddly enough, the man pauses.   
"Snart won't do anything you ask if you hurt his sister," Barry keeps his voice low and serious, "You be better off trying to fly."  
Their captor snarls, clenching his hand before striding away from them, the door slamming behind him.  
Barry sighs in relief.  
"Thanks," Lisa smiles at him.  
He returns it with his own, showing her his freed hands. He phased out of them the second the man left. Her smile widens.

Leonard Snart did not like to be surprised. That's why he always planned for everything. Plans kept surprises in the gifts at birthday parties where they belonged.   
So when a man talks to him through the number that belongs to sister, a man who is not Cisco, he is beyond displeased.  
"We have your sister and her friend. Bring the paper necessary to sign over your company within 48 hours or they will both die."  
That's what the man had said before hanging up. A second later, Snart get's a text from his sister's phone with an address. He frowns at it like it's personally responsible for his troubles. Then he grabs his gun and a suitcase and goes to the address.

"There are two at the door and at least two others patrolling the hallways," Lisa reports in a hushed voice after watching though the small window of their escape route. It figured the bad guys would put them in a room with only one door and windows too tiny to squeeze through. If Barry was to guess, he's say there were in a basement, probably in an abandoned building of some sort.  
"We could each take a guard then run to the nearest exit," Barry is just talking aloud, there's no actual plan, "I can't very well use my speed around them, but I'm still pretty strong. How's your uppercut?"  
"Terrible, but I have a mean left hook," Lisa is biting her bottom lip, trying to figure out what her brother would do, "We should wait for the other two guards to pass on their patrol first. Wait, what if the door is locked?"  
"If it is, the guard will be curious as to how it jiggling when we're supposed to be tied up," Barry assures her, but he isn't convinced himself.  
"Okay, I'll watch and signal you when it's time," Lisa waits for Barry's not, then creeps back to the door. She watches as the two patrolling guards pass by the door and turn to go around again. As soon as they disappear around the corner, she motions to Barry and turns the knob.  
Surprisingly, it's unlocked, no doubt the mobster too vain to think there was a need to. Gently, Lisa opens the door but it creaks halfway open and the guards turn. The prisoners pounce on them simultaneously, laying solid punches and pulling them into the room the second they start going down.  
"Nice one." Barry congratulates, speed tying the guard's hands as an extra measure.  
"Not too bad yourself," Lisa winks.

They check the hallway before exiting, closing the door behind them. They follow the guard's path in the hopes they will lead to an exit. There are voices coming from up ahead and they crouch down so no one can see them through the window on the door. Lisa peeks out through the window and smiles at what she sees.  
"Lenny's here."

Snart blasted his way into the abandoned schoolhouse with ease. He froze the mobster's weapons to their hands and walked passed them as they screamed in pain. When he kicks the door open to the large auditorium, the room now vacant of chairs, he isn't surprised to see it filled with his enemies.  
"You have something of mine," he drawls, his gun charged and ready to fire again, "Hand her over now and I might let you live with all your fingers."  
A man in a black suit, clearly the leader, walks out of the center of the crowd. He pulls out his phone, but doesn't press anything yet.  
"If you shoot, I will push this button and your sister will be given a bullet to the brain," he moves his thumb ever-so-slightly toward said button.  
"You can't push anything if your hand's nothing more than an ice sculpture," Snart replies, "The question is, what's faster? My gun or your thumb?"

"I gotta get out of here," Barry doesn't like their odds, "I got to get back to the lab for my suit."  
Lisa turns and hurries to the nearest door. It's a closet. She goes to the next one. This time it's another room. The windows are a little bigger in there, big enough for a person to squeeze through.  
"There," she points, "Hurry up and get your butt out that window and back."  
Barry doesn't waste time agreeing with her. He's flashing to the window and out in record time. Lisa flinches when the door behind her slams open.

"Boss," a beefy henchmen drags Lisa into the auditorium by her hair. Snart's frown deepens. The man in the suit smiles triumphantly.  
"If you'll be so kind as to put down your weapon," he puts his phone away, no need for it now that he can just tell his man the order, "We can get back to business."  
"And what's to stop you from killing us after I sign it over?" Snart replies, his eyes glancing at his sister ever few seconds, though the other man can't see that through the goggles.  
"Mr. Snart," the suited man acts offended, "You have my word!"  
Snart laughs, loud and clear, the noise echoing through the large area, "A criminal never keeps his word."  
That's when Barry returns as his alter ego.   
The Flash barrels into the man holding Lisa and gets her to safety. When he returns, the man in the suit is clutching at one of his hands, his fingers black with frostbite. The hero glares at Snart before moving to secure the other mobsters.  
When the police, and an ambulance, arrive a half an hour later, there's no trace of either Snarts or the speedster.


	35. tríocha cúig

"Are you okay?" Snart checks on his sister as soon as they enter STAR Labs. Lisa lets him gently turn her head to inspect the damage.   
"I've had worse and you know it," she pushes his hands away, but there's a comforting tone to her voice that softens her brother's scowl.  
Barry's dressed in his regular clothes again now. He wonders whether he should have a room made up for the Snart since they seem to be stopping my so often. Well, Lisa had a room, but the bed isn't big enough for both of them.  
"Thanks, Barry," the speedster starts a little, not even realizing the other man was looking at him, "For helping get my sister out of there."  
"She's my sister too, you know," Barry reminds him, he has to remind himself from time to time, "You're welcome anyway."  
Lisa pulls the younger man into a hug, "Thanks, Barry."  
Barry returns the hug.  
"Not that this moment isn't precious or anything," Snart drawls, making them pull away, "But we should really get going."  
"Wait, is it safe out there for you?" there are alarm bells going off in Barry's head, "What if that guy in teh suit has more men waiting at your safe house?"  
"There's more than one place to hand your gun, Barry," Snart tries to assure the other man, but Barry walks in front of him, blocking his way.  
"Just stay the night, please, that way I know you're safe."  
Quite a few emotions flicker in Snart's light blue eyes. If Barry didn't have the ability to slow things down, he might've missed them. He tries to hold his ground with his own stare, but he isn't sure it's working.  
"Just humor him," Lisa sighs, breaking the tension, "It's not like you have something cooking at home."  
Snart's shoulder's relax slightly in resignation and Barry's mimic the motion.  
"One night," Snart holds up a finger to emphasize, "And I'm gone by morning."  
"Deal."

 

Leonard Snart sleeps on the cot in Lisa's room. It's funny how Barry considers it her room already even though she'd only been in it for a few weeks.  
Barry crashes on the hospital bed after cleaning the blood off his face. He sends Joe a text to let him know he's fine and that he's overnighting it at the Lab. He wisely leaves out the part of both Snarts being in the same building with him.

When Barry wakes up the next morning, he expects to find Lisa room empty. Snart's gone but Lisa's still asleep in the bed, Her face almost completely covered by the blanket. Barry carefully back to the Lab's main room.  
"Morning, Barry," Snart greets him and Barry nearly jumps out of his skin.   
The older man is leaning back in Cisco's usual chair, he's removed his parka and has his feet up on the desk. A coffee cup in one hand.  
"I thought you left," Barry takes a breath to calm his nerves.  
"I did," Snart smirks, "Then I came back."  
"Obviously," Barry stretches to stifle a yawn, he never slept very well in hospital beds. Snart reaches over to Caitlin's chair and produces a cup holder with two more cups of coffee inside.   
"Didn't know what kind you liked, so I just let the barista pick her favorite," Snart holds the cup holder still as the other takes the cup closest to him, "I hope you like blueberry flavor."  
It's not Barry's first choice, but it isn't bad. He's surprised to find it's still pretty hot, so he takes small sips. Snart puts the remaining coffee back down, then lifts a small white bag up next and Barry's not sure if he can handle this nicer side of the criminal.  
"I can imagine speeding around makes you especially hungry," Snart explains to the other's confused expression, "They're biscotti, not bombs."  
Barry reaches into the bag and takes out two of the chocolate covered Italian biscuits. Snart takes one out for himself as well and dips it into his own coffee.  
They eat in silence for a few minutes before Barry can't stand it anymore.  
"This is nice," he tries to open a conversation, but it's weak. Snart raises an eyebrow at the comment. "You and me sitting around not trying to get the upper hand of the other. It's, it's good."  
"If you recall," Snart drawls, a hint of annoyance to his tone, "There have been several instances where we weren't 'trying to get the upper hand.' I'm a criminal, Barry, not a cold hearted barbarian."  
"I know that, but sometimes-" Barry cuts himself off, not wanting to bring up the other man's latest betrayal after such a nice morning.  
"Sometimes I disappoint you," Snart finishes for him, then finishes his breakfast.  
'I guess we're having this conversation anyway,' Barry sighs internally.  
"I know you like the thrill of the perfect crime, but would it be so hard to trade that for another thrill?" Barry watches as the other man crushes his empty coffee cup and places it on the desk.  
"Are you referring the exciting world of corporate espionage?" Snart deadpans, "Because I don't think that's really up my alley."  
"Well, no, I was thinking more a long the lines of maybe joining the team, this team, my team," Barry flounders with the title. He doesn't think Snart would be keen on being called part of Team Flash.  
"I already have a team."  
"And look what being part of that team got you!" Barry is far too tired and hungry, those two biscotti's not being nearly enough to replenish his energy, to deal with Snart's stubbornness.  
"I told you, Barry," the other man's eyes are shooting daggers, "I'm not a hero."  
"You asked me what being a hero pays," Barry counters, "It pays with friendship, people who will be there for you when you need them, and loyalty, the kind that doesn't have them turning their back on you the second a better offer comes by."  
Snart has stopped staring at Barry. He's resolutely ignoring him now in favor of trying to bore a hold through the screen in front of him.   
"Besides, you've somehow crafted a business out of all that and you can pay yourself whatever you want."  
Snart drops his feet from the desk and rises in one swift movement. For a second, Barry thinks he's going to turn and shout at him. but the other man merely grabs his parka and gun and leaves the lab without even looking at Barry.

"Don't worry about him," Lisa says softly from behind Barry after Snart leaves. He turns to look at her. Her face is swollen on the one side where the bruising has spread. The cut was shallower than Barry had originally thought, and looked nothing more than a scratch now.  
"I'm sorry, Lisa, did I wake you?" Barry reaches for the coffee and Italian biscuits still waiting on Caitlin's chair. He offers them to her and she smiles.  
"Lenny likes to buy me sweets for breakfast whenever a job goes south," she decides against taking a bite because it'll aggravate the swelling, she does take a sip of the coffee, grateful for the caffeine.  
"Do you want me to text Caitlin?" Barry offers, "She can take a look at your injuries."  
"It's just swelling," Lisa waves off his concerns, "Nothing a little ibuprofen won't fix."  
"I'll go get you some," he goes to the medical part of the lab to rummage through the medical cabinet. Pain killers didn't work right for him because of his powers, but Dr. Snow liked to keep them on hand since they've gotten other patients.  
"Aha!" he calls out triumphantly when he finds the bottle, he runs at regular speed to the awaiting woman. She downs four in one go, washing it down with coffee.

Cisco's reaction to seeing his girlfriend's face could be considered comical if the situation wasn't so serious. He had walked into the lab, after getting a text from Barry that Lisa was there, and dropped his phone at the sight of her.  
"What in the world happened?" he demanded, almost stepping on said phone. Barry manages to flash over and save it from his foot.  
Together, Lisa and Barry filled Cisco in on the events of the night before. The genius had grabbed Lisa's hand at the word "kidnapped" and his grip tightened ever so slightly whenever she was mentioned in the story.  
"But they're all arrested now, right?" Cisco turns his attention to the two of them in turn, "I don't have to check over my shoulder for a some mafia guy when we go out or anything, right?"  
"The ones there were arrested, but there's no telling if someone else will try again." Barry wishes it weren't true. Wishes that things could get better, but it wasn't so easy with criminals, or so he's discovered.  
"There family's aren't strong enough financially or have enough manpower to try anything for a while," Lisa puts her boyfriend's mind at ease.  
"I'm making you a custom emergency button and GPS," the genius decides, finally releasing the other's hand to work out the details on the computer.


	36. tríocha a sé

Barry works his actual day job for the next few days. Lisa Snarts surprises everyone when she starts showing up regularly at STAR Labs, occasionally adding her input.  
It's during one of those visits that she asks Barry to keep an eye out for her brother. She hadn't seen him since they got away from the mobsters and he wasn't answering her texts. Though, she had noted, he might've switches phones.  
Barry is finishing his last report of the day when he gets a text from Cisco:  
Found IceMan. Lisa went to meet with him. Wants you to come too. Here's the address... [CISCO]   
Barry goes as fast as his regular speed will allow him.

When the speedster arrives at the address, he had to take a cab since he wasn't going as The Flash, Lisa is already there and it's obvious the two siblings are fighting. Which never happened before, to the best of Barry's knowledge.  
Snart sees him approach and scowls.  
"What is he doing here?" he asks his sister.  
"Barry is here because I asked him to come!" Lisa keeps her voice as icy as her brother's, "You might not have realized this, but he cares about you too."  
"The bleeding heart of Central City cares about everyone," Snart gets on his bike to leave, but Lisa grabs his arm.  
"You are not going there alone, Len," her tone is deadly serious.  
"Meeting who? What's going on?" Barry stares as both Snarts try to kill each other with their glares alone.  
"Mick's out of jail and is gunning for Len," Lisa explains, "And Mr. Cool as a cucumber here wants to meet him alone."  
"That's crazy," Barry can understand Lisa's anger now. Did Snart have a death wish?  
"I'm not getting you involved," Snart rips his arm out of his sister's grasp, "Mick's beef is with me. That hot head has always been my responsibility."  
"Why?" Lisa challenges, crossing her arms, "Because he saved you in Juvie and now you owe him a life debt?"  
"What goes on between Mick and me does not concern you," the criminal turns his icy glare to Barry, "Or you, Scarlet."  
"Lenny, we are family," Lisa's voice has gone from hard as nails to soft as a feather in seconds, "Let us help you."  
"You almost died just a few days ago, Lisa," Snart's eyes flicker with something other than anger, something protective and sad, but it's gone as fast as it comes, "Go back to your boyfriend and take the kid with you."  
He guns the bike and takes off without another word. Leaving Lisa and Barry staring after him.

"Cisco, do you have a read on him?" Barry asks when they get back to the lab. Lisa is already by the genius's shoulder, trying reading the information flashing on the screen.  
"I got nothing, man," Cisco raises his hands in defeat, "He somehow figured out how to shield the radiation given off by the Cold Gun."  
"I slipped my bracelet into his parka," Lisa nudges him, "You can use it to track him."   
The genius had, in fact, made the custom emergency button and GPS for his girlfriend, somehow made it into a bracelet.   
"Brilliant as you are beautiful!" Cisco grins, putting in the code to trace the GPS.  
A bright golden beacon shines on the map of Central City and he cheers.  
"I'll go after him," Barry says, dressed in his Flash suit.  
"Take me with you," Lisa says and a memory comes unbidden to the forefront of Barry's mind, one filled with pirates and robots. Lisa can apparently read his mind because she smiles and tells him, "Don't even bother saying no."

The two of them arrive at the burnt remains of the dock Heatwave had destroyed all those weeks ago. Mick and Snart are standing in the center of it, neither of them are talking. Snart's back is to them, so Mick notices them first. He frowns at the Flash.  
"So, the rumors are true," the pyromaniac motions to the newcomers with his head. Snart glances behind himself, his goggles are on but Barry can feel his regular icy glare.  
"I didn't invite them, Mick," Snart drawls evenly, "In fact I told them to stay away."  
"Why?" Mick asks, hand going for his gun, but nor firing it. Not yet, "They're your precious family aren't they?"  
"What are you talking about?" Snart says slowly, his hand resting on his own gun.  
"I'm not as stupid as you all want me to be," Mick growls, "You told me about the powers that Meta woman had. You said she could see into a person's DNA. Then you started acting odd. You kept yourself locked in your room for hours on end and didn't even want to push the Flash's buttons anymore. What other reason for that could there be if not for you to have discovered some family connection."  
"I'm surprised you could make something so ridiculous up on your own, Mick," Snart pulls his gun out of it's holster and supports it with his other hand.  
"I may not know how or why, but I know you, Len," Mick smirks, "I know how you get when it comes to family."  
"I thought we were partners," Snart tries again to reason with the man, but he can tell by the other man's expression it isn't working.  
"So did I."

Heatwave shoots first, the flames reaching past Snart and towards Barry and Lisa. Barry grabs the other and flashes her away from it's path. Once on solid ground again, Lisa pulls out her own weapon.   
"Let's go stop some idiots," she smiles at Barry.  
Heatwave and Snart are running at each other, guns going off at odd intervals as they inch their way closer to the other. Barry watches, looking for an opening to either steal their guns or put something in between them.  
Lisa stands by his side, feeling equally useless, her earlier words proving to be useless prattle.  
Snart lands the first blow to his opponent. Heatwave takes a step back before swinging his gun at the other to take a shot. Snart falls to his knees and rams his gun into the other man's wrist, forcing him to release the gun.   
Mick grabs Snart by his collar in one hand and his gun with the other.  
"We could've been great!" he shouts in his face, "We could've burnt this City to the ground!"  
"And then lived pointless lives, because there is more to life then fire, Mick!"  
That sets the other man off, he knees Snart's elbow, making him scream and drop his gun. Barry takes the opportunity to go for the guns. As he pauses to grab them, moving at superspeed, he notices the knife Mick is pulling out. He can see it headed towards Len and he doesn't hesitate, he steps in front of it.  
"Flash!" Lisa screams.  
Snart blinks a few times, confused for a moment how the Flash ended up in front of him and what he was doing there.  
"Two birds," Mick laughs, puling the knife out of the speedster, "One knife."  
A Barry drops, hand going for the knife wound, Snart slides over to his gun and aims at Mick. The other man freezes in his tracks. His hand and the knife he holds is covered in the hero's blood.   
"You haven't got the guts," Mick sneers, he goes to take a step closer and Snart blasts him away.   
He isn't dead, though Snart knows thing would be easier if he did kill the maniac, but at least he's far away from Barry. Barry, who is bleeding too much for Snart's liking.  
"Why'd you go and do that for?" he asks, removing his parka so he can get to his sweater. He takes the sweater off too and applies it to the knife wound in the hero's stomach.  
"I've got," Barry groans through an especially harsh spasm of pain, "Super healing."  
"Yeah? Well, I'm not seeing it, kid." Snart looks over to Mick, who's already moving and getting up.  
"Not so fast," Lisa shoots him with her gun, affectively trapping him on the ground, "I think you've done enough for one day."  
"I'll see you BURN!" Mick shouts, "I'll see you ALL BURN!"  
"We're going to have to do something about him," Lisa frowns, coming closer to see the damage for herself, "Is he going to live, Lenny?"  
"Not even a knife would can keep Scarlet down for long, sis," Snart holsters his gun and moves behind Barry, "Up we go!"  
He lifts the speedster to his feet, much to Barry's dismay. The younger man shouts at the pain and Lisa flinches in sympathy. Mick laughs.  
"Tell Dr. Snow she has a patient in urgent need of her care," Snart orders his sister, knowing she can relay the message through her phone.   
Barry's body decides that's a good time to pass out.

They take Snart's bike, not all of them legally fitting on the machine, but Snart doesn't care and he'd rather not risk dropping the man onto the street while he drives through traffic. They arrive at STAR Labs in record time, though not nearly as fast as the Flash could've. Lisa eases Barry off the bike then Snart takes him from her and carries him in over his shoulder to where Caitlin is waiting for them in the hospital area. She's already scrubbed up and starts once again uses Cisco as her nurse.  
They get the suit opened up enough to see the damage. If not for Barry's super healing, he might've been dead already. The statement has an obvious impact on the Snarts. Caitlin works quickly to patch up organs and stitch up the hole.  
"He needs blood, but there's not enough of his type on hand," she bites her lip, looking at the already half empty blood pack hanging.  
"Do we match?" Snart asks. It's the first thing he's said since their arrival.   
Cisco double checks and they do. Moments later, Captain Cold is sitting next to The Flash supplying him with his own blood.

Police arrest Mick Rory later that day. He's ranting and raving like a lunatic and they have to sedate him to get him into the police cruiser. They check him into a the mental ward of the prison.


	37. tríocha a seacht

When Barry wakes up again, he thinks he feels hunger pains. Once he wakes up a little more, he realizes his mistake. His stomach lurches and threatens to empty, but Barry breathes through it.  
The world is blurry at first as he opens his eyes, but they eventually focus on the man currently sitting in the chair at the foot of his bed. It's Snart, fast asleep.  
The older man has his head propped up with one head and is out like a light. There's a slightly bloody cotton swab taped the other arm's inner elbow. Barry shakes his head a little as he realizes the man who's trademark style was a winter parka, was sitting before him in a black t-shirt. Some version of a laugh must've come out of his mouth, because Snart's eyes are opening and focusing on him now. He expects the usual icy glare, but sees a softer look to the blue eyes.  
"Doc should be back any minute," Snart says softly, moving his hand so it no longer supports his head. Even his voice is different. Maybe he's a robotic replacement?  
"What happened to Mick?" Barry asks, not sure if the other man will actually tell him.  
"Cops got him in the mental ward," Snart shrugs, "Should keep his story about us being related unbelievable."  
"I'm sorry," Barry says, because losing a partner is rough, even if that partner did end up crazy. Snart shakes his head minutely.

"Is running into knives a hero thing, Barry?" Snart asks after a beat of silence, "Because if that's what you had in mind for me, you're darker than I thought."  
"That was improvisation," Barry places a hand to the still sore wound.  
"You need to think faster on your feet," Snart smirks, enjoying the frustrated look he gets for the comment.  
"Gee, thanks, Snart, I'll take that into consideration," Barry decides to relax as much as he can into the bed.  
"Call me, Len," Snart says, earning a shocked expression from the younger man, "I already have a plethora of names to refer to you by. Might as well give you another one for me."  
"Alright, Len," Barry smiles, that tight feeling in his chest growing again.  
"And not to be too pushy, but I think you'll be needing a hand around here while you heal," Len adds, glancing around the place as if there was something to physically do at that moment.   
Barry doesn't tell him that he'll be fine in a couple of hours. Doesn't want to break the figurative olive branch the other man is offering him. He merely nods.

They lapse back into silence for another few minutes before Barry speaks again.  
"What does "Óir Fuar" even mean?" he asks, curious ever since he saw the hard to pronounce word.  
"It's Irish," Len smiles, "for "Cold Gold.""  
Barry groans, "Are you kidding me?"  
"It's amazing what a foreign name can do for a company," Len shrugs, "I wanted to name it "Bradacha.""  
"What does that mean?" Barry already knows it's going to be something ridiculous.  
"Rogue," his half brother smiles.

~End~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There it is! It's finished. In all it's horrible "glory."  
> The tone COMPLETELY changed as soon as I wrote out my Metas. There are just too many intricate characters in this show!  
> I have so much more respect for the writers of "The Flash" now. They are amazing.


End file.
